Public Accounts Commission

Public Accounts Commission: Pay

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission, what the level of earnings is of the (a) highest and (b) lowest-paid employees of the Commission; and what the median level of earnings is for such employees.

Sir Edward Leigh: The Public Accounts Commission does not have any employees. It is a statutory body with a membership of nine Members of the House of Commons. Its role is defined by the National Audit Act 1983 and the Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act 2011. Its principal duties under the Acts are to examine the National Audit Office Estimate and lay it before the House, to consider reports from the appointed auditor of the National Audit Office (NAO), to appoint non-executive members of the NAO Board, and to report from time to time.

HM Treasury

Agriculture: Tax Allowances

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people received income tax relief for farming etc. averaging of profits in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.

Jane Ellison: The number of taxpayers claiming averaging adjustment (for farmers, market gardeners and creators of literary or artistic works) in 2013-14 and 2014-15 were 19,600 and 19,500 (rounded to the nearest 100) respectively.

Financial Markets: Tax Allowances

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people received income tax relief for post-trading expenditure in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.

Jane Ellison: The number of taxpayers claiming income tax relief for post-trading expenditure in 2013-14 and 2014-15 were 1,900 and 1,700 respectively.

Visual Impairment: Tax Allowances

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people received blind person's allowance for income tax in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.

Jane Ellison: It is estimated that around 49,000 people received Blind Persons Allowance in 2013-14 and it is projected that 48,600 people received it in 2014-15. These estimates are based on the 2013-14 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected to 2014-15 using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s November 2016 economic and fiscal outlook.

Tobacco: Excise Duties

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the reduction in monies coming in to the public purse which result from each increase in one per cent in excise duty charged on tobacco products.

Jane Ellison: An indication of the fiscal effect of a one per cent increase in duty in 2017-18 on tobacco products set out in the HM Revenue and Customs publication, Direct effects of illustrative tax changes. This is available to view at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/571367/Nov16_Direct_effects_illustrative_tax_changes_bulletin_final.pdf All estimates show the impacts of the various illustrative changes on top of what is already assumed in the indexed baseline (RPI+2% until the end of this parliament for Tobacco Products Duty).

Lloyds Banking Group

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he expects the Government's stake in Lloyds Bank to be returned to the private sector.

Simon Kirby: Since the Government’s decision to sell its stake in Lloyds Banking Group, the Government has recovered over 90% of the money taxpayers injected into the bank during the financial crisis‎. The Government is on track to return the Lloyds Banking Group fully to the private sector as set out when the trading plan was launched in October 2016. Following recent sales, the Government has reduced its shareholding to less than 5%.

Personal Pensions: Tax Allowances

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total value of revenue forgone was of tax relief for personal pension contributions for (a) basic and (b) higher rate taxpayers in each of the last three financial years.

Jane Ellison: The estimated cost to the Exchequer from income tax relief on personal pension contributions can be found in HM Revenue and Customs’ National Statistics publication. The relevant information is available to view at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/registered-pension-schemes-cost-of-tax-relief. Estimates of the number of people making contributions into personal pensions, and the value of their contributions by different income levels, can be found in Table 3.8 at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/deductions-and-reliefs-2010-to-2011.

Health Insurance: Insurance Premium Tax

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the revenue to the Exchequer from insurance premium tax on (a) individual health insurance and (b) corporate health insurance was in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jane Ellison: The details that HM Revenue and Customs collect from the taxpayer on their Insurance Premium Tax return are not specific enough to provide the data requested.

Trade Agreements

Hilary Benn: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential economic effect on the (a) pharmaceuticals, (b) aerospace, (c) vehicle manufacturing, (d) financial services, (e) agriculture and (f) creative industries of reverting to trade on World Trade Organisation terms as a result of the UK leaving the EU.

Mr David Gauke: The Government continues to undertake a range of analyses to inform the UK’s position for the upcoming EU exit negotiations. As the Prime Minister has said, we will pursue a bold and ambitious Free Trade Agreement with the European Union as a priority to allow for the greatest possible trade in goods and services between Britain and EU member states.

Apprentices: Taxation

Gordon Marsden: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the sums to be accrued from the apprenticeship levy in each region of the UK in (a) 2017-18, (b) 2018-19 and (c) 2019-20.

Jane Ellison: The apprenticeship levy will apply across the UK and will be collected from employers on a UK wide basis. The expected yield for the apprenticeship levy is published in table C.5 (‘Current Receipts’) in the Autumn Statement 2016 document. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/571559/autumn_statement_2016_web.pdf It is not possible to produce a robust estimate of the amount of the levy which will be paid by employers in the devolved administrations or by region. This is because the PAYE system, through which employers will pay the levy, does not record the place of work of individuals and many large employers have employees working across the UK. Skills policy is devolved and the UK government has agreed to provide the devolved administrations with a population share of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s apprenticeship levy forecast (published in March 2016). The funding agreement has been published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-government-agrees-apprenticeship-levy-funding-deal-with-devolved-administrations.

Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission

Electoral Commission: Senior Civil Servants

Jon Trickett: To ask the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the (a) ethnicity, (b) gender, (c) disability status, (d) educational background and (e) socio-economic status is of the three most senior officials employed by the Electoral Commission.

Bridget Phillipson: The Electoral Commission’s Executive Team, including the Chief Executive, is made up of five members and an additional Programme Director, of which:(a) 6 are White British(b) 4 are female, 2 are male(c) None have declared a disability(d) 3 were educated to graduate level, 3 to postgraduate level.The Electoral Commission does not hold information on the socio-economic status of its staff members. Further information about the Executive Team is available on the Commission’s website.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits

John Nicolson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with conditions that cause short stature have had their mobility payments withdrawn after their transition from disability living allowance to personal independence payments.

Penny Mordaunt: The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. It is important to bear in mind that Personal Independence Payment is not assessed on the basis of an individual's long term disability or condition based, rather it is based on the needs arising because of the disability or condition.

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many appeals against each type of benefit sanction have been (a) upheld and (b) overturned in each year since 2010.

Penny Mordaunt: Information is not available for the whole of the period requested. Information for ESA and JSA for part of the period is in the link below at Tables 1.8 and 2.6 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/jobseekers-allowance-and-employment-and-support-allowance-sanctions-decisions-made-to-june-2016 Information for Universal Credit is not currently available. The Department published its strategy for releasing official statistics on benefit sanctions, including Universal Credit in April 2016. As outlined in the strategy, officials are currently developing the data for UC sanctions and will only release information once the necessary quality assurance work has taken place. These statistics will be published in accordance with the relevant protocols in the Code of Practice for official statistics.

Personal Independence Payment: Motability

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answers of 17 January 2017 to Question 59783 and 59784, on personal independence payment: motability, what the (a) estimated cost was to his Department of answering those Questions, (b) maximum amount his Department will spend on an Answer, (c) average cost to his Department per Answer and (d) maximum and minimum amount spent on answering a Question was in the last 12 months.

Caroline Nokes: a)In order to answer the hon. Member’s question 59783, “how many people who were previously in receipt of the enhanced personal independence payment and qualified for the Motability scheme have since been reassessed and lost their Motability vehicle”, would require the linking together of several complex datasets and quality assurance of the results. It is estimated that this would take in excess of 5 working days and would therefore exceed the disproportionate cost threshold of £850. The information requested by the hon. Member’s question 59784, “how many people who were previously in receipt of the higher rate of the mobility component of disability living allowance and qualified for the Motability scheme, have been reassessed and lost their Motability vehicle”, is not included in datasets underpinning routine publication of benefit statistics. It is estimated that, to access the original datasets and carry out the necessary quality assurance, would take in excess of 5 working days and similarly would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold of £850. b) and c)The disproportionate cost threshold of £850 and the average cost of written parliamentary questions of £164 were determined by HM Treasury and notified to Parliament by written statement by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury on 8 February 2012. https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2012-02-08/debates/12020833000014/ParliamentaryQuestions?highlight=disproportionate%20cost%20threshold#contribution-12020833000033 d)The information requested is not held.

Betting Shops: Staff

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 28 July 2015 to Question 7097, whether his Department holds information on the proportion of Association of British Bookmakers member betting shops which have been deemed unsafe for single manning.

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent representations he has received on assaults on betting shop staff.

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether an assessment has been made by the Health and Safety Executive of the safety of lone staff working in betting shops; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt: The Secretary of State and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have not received any representations on assaults on betting shop staff. HSE does not hold information on the proportion of Association of British Bookmakers member betting shops which have been deemed unsafe for single manning, nor has an assessment been made of the safety of lone staff working in betting shops. HSE provides guidance to help employers ensure a safe working environment for lone workers http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg73.pdf and on controlling the risk of violence to staff (http://www.hse.gov.uk/violence/toolkit/index.htm). All members of the Association of British Bookmakers should meet the requirements set out in the Voluntary Code of Safety and Security National Standards for Bookmakers published by Safe Bet Alliance in 2014. Local Authorities enforce occupational health and safety legislation in betting shops and violence to staff is an issue which may be a focus for inspection where evidence suggests the risks are not being managed properly.

Occupational Pensions

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his most recent estimate is of the number of workers who will automatic enrolment in pension schemes by 2018.

Richard Harrington: 11 million workers are estimated to be in the eligible target group for automatic enrolment and we expect this to lead to around 10 million people newly saving or saving more by 2018, generating around £17 billion a year more in workplace pension saving by 2019/20. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/560356/workplace-pensions-update-analysis-auto-enrolment-2016.pdf Since the roll out of automatic enrolment, over 7.1 million people have been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension and more than 370,000 employers have met their duties. We remain on track to complete the gradual roll of automatic enrolment from 2012 to 2018.

Home Office

Vetting

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions police forces have provided additional information for criminal records checks in each financial year (a) before and (b) since the passage of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012; and what proportion of total applications that number represents.

Sarah Newton: The table below shows the number of disclosure applications which contained approved information from local police forces in each financial year since 2002, and the proportion of all disclosure applications this represents.The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 introduced a more rigorous test for relevancy on 10 September 2012. This changed the test for police disclosure to ensure that the disclosure of information was more effectively targeted at clear safeguarding risks. It also introduced a statutory code of practice for police to use when deciding what information to disclose.Further requirements of the Act were introduced with the creation of the Disclosure and Barring Service on 1 December 2012.Financial YearTotal disclosures despatched containing approved informationTotal disclosures despatchedProportion of total applications2002/036,3171,437,3480.44%2003/0410,1582,287,5220.44%2004/0511,1602,432,9330.46%2005/0615,4492,776,3780.56%2006/0715,6933,278,0310.48%2007/0817,3623,323,4020.52%2008/0920,7973,856,5830.54%2009/1024,5544,301,3130.57%2010/1123,8824,312,5330.55%2011/1216,2964,074,2410.40%1 April 2012 to 31 Nov 2012[1]8,2192,842,8320.29%1 Dec 2012 to 31 March 2013[2]3,2651,223,7730.27%2013/149,6263,948,7330.24%2014/159,8994,111,8560.24%2015/169,6504,214,5410.23%2016/17 to 31/12/167,1203,258,1030.22% [1] Figures prior to Disclosure and Barring Service creation to meet the requirements under Protection of Freedoms Act 2012[2] Figures post Disclosure and Barring Service creation to meet the requirements under Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

British Nationality: Fees and Charges

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much was accrued to the public purse in nationality fees in 2016.

Mr Robert Goodwill: All financial data is released on a financial year basis, and will only be available once the 2016-17 Home Office Annual Report and Accounts have been drafted, and then audited by the National Audit Office (NAO).

Home Office: Pay

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) level of earnings is of the (i) highest and (ii) lowest-paid employee and (b) median earnings are of employees of her Department, agencies and arms-length bodies.

Sarah Newton: The Office for National Statistics publish annually the highest and median salary for each Civil Service organisation as part of the Civil Service Statistics. This information can be found on the Office for National Statistics website and is based on the same data set as at 31 March 2016. https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/medianpayannexb

Home Office: Cleaning Services

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the hourly pay-rate is for her Department's cleaning staff.

Sarah Newton: Cleaning services across the department are outsourced. Suppliers are responsible for setting rates of pay for their staff and rates for cleaners vary dependent on their age, location and market rates. They have informed the department that they currently pay, as a minimum, either the National Minimum Wage or the National Living Wage for cleaning the department’s buildings.

Home Office: Brexit

Ms Gisela Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will place in the Library a list of public consultations, White Papers and other documents her Department plans to publish to assist the UK in making effective the Government's plans for the UK to leave the EU within the two year timetable from the triggering of Article 50.

Sarah Newton: The Government has always been committed to parliamentary scrutiny of our withdrawal from the EU, balanced against the need to avoid undermining our negotiating position, as agreed by the House of Commons on 12 October 2016. The Government will put the final deal that is agreed between the UK and the EU to a vote in both Houses of Parliament, before it comes into force.

Home Office: Secondment

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many civil servants have been seconded from her Department to the Department for Exiting the European Union.

Sarah Newton: This information is not held centrally within the Home Office. The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Refugees: Children

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) financial and (b) other resources have been allocated to support the implementation of section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 in 2016-17.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government seeks to ensure the availability of funding and resources to deliver against its commitments.At the height of the operation in Calais the UK had deployed over 200 Home Office staff, interpreters and social workers who visited the specialist centres in France to carry out the necessary assessments to determine whether it was in the best interests of the children to be transferred to the UK. We have also seconded an expert to Greece in addition to our long-standing secondee in Italy to support efforts to identify children who may qualify for transfer to the UK under section 67 of the Immigration Act and the Dublin Regulation.The Home Office pays a national rate of £114 per day (£41,610 pa) for every UASC under the age of 16 and £91 per day for every UASC age 16 or 17 (£33,215 pa). These rates represent a 20% and 28% increase respectively on the previous rates. We also pay £200 per week (£10,400 pa) as a contribution towards leaving care costs for former UASC aged 18 and over who have leave to remain in the UK, this represents a 33% increase on the previous rate.More broadly, the Government has established a £10 million Refugee Children Fund for Europe to support the needs of vulnerable refugee and migrant children arriving in Europe.

Domestic Violence

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much time each police force in England has allocated to train officers on the offence of coercive control.

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many arrests have been made for the offence of coercive control in each region and constituent part of the UK in the last 12 months.

Brandon Lewis: The information requested is not held centrally by the Home Office. The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of arrests by each police force in England and Wales at offence group level (e.g. violence against the person, sexual offences etc.). However, the data cannot be broken down to specifically identify the number of arrests for controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship (coercive control). We are committed to improving the data on domestic abuse. The Office for National Statistics has published a new statistical bulletin that brings together comprehensive data on domestic abuse at a local level. Additional data will be added to the annual series as it becomes available. Guidance for professionals on the new offence of coercive control was published in December 2015 and the Crown Prosecution Service is closely monitoring performance. New transformative training has been piloted by the College of Policing and is in the process of being rolled out further.

Asylum

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to (a) ensure that the initial discussions on asylum applications are correct and (b) reduce the number of asylum decisions overturned at appeal.

Mr Robert Goodwill: All asylum claims lodged in the UK are carefully considered on their individual merits against a background of relevant case law and up to date country information. We ensure that claimants are given every opportunity to disclose information relevant to their claim before a decision is taken, even where that information may be sensitive or difficult to disclose. We are working to improve the quality of decision-making to ensure that we properly consider all the evidence provided and get decisions right the first time. UK Visas and Immigration has an internal audit process, consisting of reviews by senior case workers and independent auditors, which assesses whether Home Office policy has been followed. An allowed appeal is not in itself an indication that our decision was incorrect at the time it was made though we aim to reduce the allowed appeal rate by analysing the reasons why appeals are allowed and using this to further improve guidance and training.

Home Office: Security

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which persons not employed by her Department and its agencies hold security passes entitling them to enter her Department's premises.

Sarah Newton: The common groups of persons who are not employed by the Department but have the appropriate level of clearance to hold security passes entitling them to enter Departmental premises are: holders of judicial office, non-executive directors, contractors, agency staff, and holders of the common civil service pass. Temporary staff and visitors to the Department’s buildings are issued with an escorted or unescorted day pass subject to the level of their security clearance.

Domestic Violence

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Home Office on the Government's proposal to continue direct grant funding to support independent domestic violence advisers and multi-agency risk assessment conference coordinators after March 2017.

Sarah Newton: The Home Office has engaged closely with other Government departments through the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Inter-Ministerial Group to oversee delivery of the VAWG strategy including the commitment of increased funding of £80m for VAWG services. The Home Office has also engaged closely with commissioners and voluntary sector partners on support for independent domestic violence advisers, and our move to support better local collaboration and early intervention through the VAWG Service Transformation Fund.

Betting Shops: Yorkshire and the Humber

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the Safe Bet Alliance in reducing crime relating to betting shops in Yorkshire.

Brandon Lewis: We have not undertaken a specific assessment of the effectiveness of the Safe Bet Alliance in reducing crime relating to betting shops in Yorkshire. We do support initiatives such as the Safe Bet Alliance which involves the industry working closely with police and other partners to help tackle and reduce crime and protect betting shop staff and customers from crime.

Betting Shops: Crime

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of new betting shops on crime rates in their local areas.

Brandon Lewis: We have not undertaken an assessment of the effect of new betting shops on local crime rates.

Police: Road Traffic Control

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many designated road traffic officers there have been in each police force in each year since 2010.

Brandon Lewis: The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the primary function of police officers, as part of the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletins. These data include officers whose primary function is “Road Policing”. Officers with multiple responsibilities are recorded under their primary function.The data requested on traffic officers are provided in the table attached. Data for years prior to 2015 were collected under a different framework, with different definitions, and are therefore not directly comparable with data as at 31 March 2015 or 2016.Some forces are unable to make a clear distinction between certain functions and therefore record the majority of, or all, employees under one function. In particular, some forces have employees who work within units whose function is to provide both roads policing and armed policing. Reclassification of roles within a force can lead to fluctuations in the number of officers in a particular role between years.



Police Data Table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 28.5 KB)

Asylum: Housing

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that asylum seekers have access to decent housing in all areas of the UK.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The contract for asylum accommodation requires contractors to provide accommodation that is safe, habitable and fit for purpose; the requirements are equivalent to the Decent Homes Standards. The contract requires a strict inspection regime for the suppliers and a Home Office contract compliance team undertakes further inspections. When an inspection identifies a defect there are strict time frames within which a remedy must be provided. Over the life of the current contracts the standards of accommodation have improved.The Home Office works closely with local government to increase the number of local authorities that participate in the asylum dispersal scheme; the number of areas participating has increased by over a third in the last two years.

Dungavel House Immigration Removal Centre

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 31 January 2017 to Question 61888, when the current lease arrangement for the site of Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre with the Crown is due to be reviewed.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre is operated by GEO Group UK Ltd under contract with the Home Office. The freehold of the site is owned by the Crown and held in the name of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. It forms part of the Government's civil estate and therefore there is no lease arrangement in place.

Road Traffic Offences: Fixed Penalties

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many fixed penalty notices have been issued by each police force for road traffic offences in each quarter since 2010.

Brandon Lewis: The Home Office publishes data on the number of offences dealt via a fixed penalty notice (FPNs) by each police force in the ‘Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales’ statistical publication. This covers all offences dealt with via a fixed penalty notice, but does not include those dealt with via prosecution or driver retraining courses. These data are collected and published annually, with data not held centrally for individual quarters. The latest data, up to the calendar year 2015, can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/561976/fixed-penalty-notices-police-powers-procedures-hosb1516-tables.ods How road traffic offences are enforced is an operational matter for the police, while decisions on the size and composition of a force’s workforce are for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners.

Domestic Violence: Advisory Services

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of trends in the number of independent domestic violence advisers in England and Wales in each of the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

Sarah Newton: The Government has reviewed the findings of the 2016 Annual Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA) count, produced by the charity SafeLives, which shows there has been an increase in IDVA provision of 4.6% from the 2015 survey. As set out in our Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy, the Government is working to help local areas improve commissioning of services for victims, support early intervention and develop coherent pathways of support for victims of these crimes. We will continue to work with the women’s sector and local areas to monitor the level of IDVA and other provision for victims of violence against women and girls

Police

Dr   Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure the police represent the communities they serve in (a) rural and (b) other areas.

Brandon Lewis: We need a modern diverse police force to police modern diverse communities. The police must understand communities to effectively police them.The Government has reformed policing to ensure that there is a sector-led approach to making improvements, including in the area of recruitment and representation. The Government’s reforms will allow for faster progress on equality and Diversity. For example, new entry routes to policing are proving attractive and increasing the diversity of the police workforce. Police and Crime Commissioners and the College of Policing as the professional body for policing in England and Wales are playing a key role in ensuring improvements in forces, and for the first time we have published force by force diversity statistics which will allow the public to directly compare the diversity of their police force with the population it serves.

Entry Clearances: Kurds

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 18 February 2016 to Question 26302, how many people from the Kurdistan Region in Iraq (a) applied for and (b) were refused entry clearance to the UK from 1 October 2015 to 30 April 2016.

Mr Robert Goodwill: I am sorry but we do not routinely collect data on whether someone is from a particular region, only their nationality.This data is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-july-to-september-2016/list-of-tables

Asylum

Dr Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will respond to the report from Freedom From Torture, Proving Torture, on its findings on the level of certainty required by her Department for asylum seekers to prove that they have experienced torture.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Officials have reviewed the cases that are referred to in the report and have engaged with, and will continue to work closely with, Freedom from Torture to review and develop further our policy and training. The underlying policy objective when processing claims involving allegations of torture or serious harm and when considering medical evidence in the context of an asylum claim is to ensure that all relevant medico-legal (and any other) evidence provided in support of the claim is properly considered and given appropriate weight. We consider all asylum claims in a sensitive manner on an individual, objective and impartial basis ensuring that all cases are managed effectively throughout the asylum process to avoid unnecessary delay. The policy guidance sets out how to properly consider, and afford appropriate weight to, medico-legal evidence as part of a claim for protection. It states explicitly that it is not the role of decision makers to dispute clinical findings in the medico-legal reports or make clinical judgments of their own about medical evidence or medical matters generally and all decision makers are trained in the application of this policy.

Sex Establishments: Licensing

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has considered the potential merits of extending to people who are objecting to decisions to grant a sexual entertainment licence the same rights of appeal as people have who are objecting to alcohol and gambling licences.

Brandon Lewis: It is open to any individual to object to the decision to grant a sexual entertainment licence. The Policing and Crime Act 2009 determined that decisions on licensing applications for sexual entertainment venues are best made at a local level and it is for local authorities licensing committees to consider whether granting a licence for a sexual entertainment venue is appropriate for their area. When considering an application for the grant, renewal or transfer of a licence the appropriate authority should have regard to any observations submitted to it by the chief officer of police and any objections that they have received from anyone else within 28 days of the application. We routinely review local licensing regulations to ensure that local people are able to contribute to the development of their community.

Home Office: Staff

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many former prisoners have been employed by her Department in each of the last five years.

Sarah Newton: The Home Office does not hold central records on the number of former prisoners employed within the department. Obtaining this information could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.

Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons Review

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2017 to Question 59369, on immigrant detainees, what the terms of reference are for Stephen Shaw's review.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff of her Department will support Stephen Shaw in producing the review of his report on immigration detention.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she expects Stephen Shaw to (a) begin, (b) complete and (c) publish the findings of his review of his report on immigration detention.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2017 to Question 59369, on immigrant detainees, what the key actions are from Stephen Shaw's previous report.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The follow up to the review by Stephen Shaw CBE into the welfare in detention of vulnerable persons will take place in late 2017. The timings and resources for his follow up review are to be agreed with Mr Shaw. Mr Shaw will be invited to assess the implementation of all his review recommendations.

Immigration: Appeals

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2017 to Question 61835, on immigration: appeals, how long follow-on actions are expected to take if the Home Office decides not to contest a successful appeal.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Where the Home Office decides not to contest an appeal, follow-on actions are completed as quickly as practically possible. The timeframe for will vary for individual cases, especially where a fresh decision is required or the customer needs to provide further information.

Northern Ireland Office

Integrated Schools: Northern Ireland

Sir Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education during preparation of the Government's Green Paper, Schools That Work For Everyone, published on 12 September 2016, on the work of the Integrated Education Fund; and if he will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: I am aware of the consultation on ‘Schools That Work For Everyone’ which was published by the Secretary of State for Education in September last year. As this proposed policy only applies to schools in England, and education is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland, I had no discussions with the Secretary of State for Education on the work of the Integrated Education Fund, during the preparation of the Government’s Green Paper.

Department of Health

Colorectal Cancer: Screening

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people in their 50s are screened for bowel cancer.

David Mowat: Bowel cancer screening is offered at two stages, once with a flexible camera at age 55 and then every two years between 60 and 74. In July 2003, bowel cancer screening by Faecal Occult Blood (FOB) testing for men and women aged 50-74 was recommend by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). Roll out in England was initially offered to men and women aged 60-69 years old, with more than 80% of cancers being detected in this age group. The Cancer Reform Strategy (2007) extended bowel screening to 70-74 year olds. The roll out of FOBt in England required the NHS Bowel Screening Programme to take into account and help balance the increased workloads and pressures placed upon services providing diagnosis and treatment to all people with bowel cancer (not only those found through the screening programme) as well as consider the possible introduction of bowel scope which was then introduced eight years on. In 2011 the UK NSC agreed for Bowel Scope Screening (BSS) to be offered to men and women at the time of their 55th birthday as an alternative and complementary bowel screening methodology to Faecal Occult Blood (FOBt). Evidence has shown that men and women aged 55-64 attending a one-off BSS test for bowel cancer can reduce their individual mortality from the disease by 43% (31% on a whole population basis) and reduce their individual incidence of bowel cancer by 33% (23% on a whole population basis)1. On 15 January 2016 the UK NSC announced the recommendation that Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) is used as the primary test for bowel cancer instead of the currently used FOB test. Ministers have accepted this recommendation and FIT will be implemented from April 2018. Note:1 The Lancet, Volume 375, Issue 9726, Pages 1624 - 1633, 8 May 2010

Department of Health: Pay

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the (a) level of earnings is of the (i) highest and (ii) lowest-paid employee and (b) median earnings are of employees of his Department, agencies and arms-length bodies.

David Mowat: The Office for National Statistics publish annually the highest and median salary for each Civil Service organisation as part of the Civil Service Statistics. This information can be found on the Office for National Statistics website:https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/medianpayannexb Earning levels for the lowest paid employee are not publically available.

Cancer: Research

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what effect his Department has identified of the UK leaving the EU on continued collaboration with patients, patient advocates and healthcare professional groups through the European Cancer Concord.

David Mowat: Officials in both the Department of Health and the Department for Exiting the European Union are considering the position and options available to us with the aim of achieving the best outcome for the United Kingdom health system and for the UK as a whole.

Hospitals: Food

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to promote the access to and sale of healthier food options on hospital sites.

Nicola Blackwood: In 2014, the Department published legally-binding food standards for the National Health Service. For staff and visitor catering, this included a requirement to adhere to the Nutrition Principles within Public Health England’s guidance; ‘Healthier and More Sustainable Catering’. Hospitals are also required to develop a Food and Drink Strategy, including healthier eating for the whole hospital community. To promote access to healthier food options in the National Health Service, in 2016, NHS England linked £450 million of incentive payments, via the national Commissioning for Quality and Innovation scheme, to improving staff health and wellbeing across all NHS trusts. Specifically, £150 million was linked to making four changes to food and drink provision: - Banning price promotions of unhealthy food and drink;- Banning advertisement of unhealthy food and drink;- Removal of unhealthy food and drink from checkouts; and- Improving affordable, healthy options for night staff. In 2017/18 and 2018/19 NHS England is also providing a further set of incentive payments to encourage additional action by hospitals, including: - Expanding the number of sugar free drink lines available;- Reducing the portion size of snacks and confectionary;- Reducing the portion size of pre packed meals; and- Maintaining the four changes made in 2016/17 as outlined above.

Ovarian Cancer: Medical Treatments

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans NICE has to include guidance on treatment of recurrent ovarian cancer in its review of NICE guidelines.

Nicola Blackwood: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has advised that its guideline on ovarian cancer (CG122) currently covers the recognition and initial management of ovarian cancer. The treatment of recurrent ovarian cancer is not covered by the current guideline’s scope. The guideline was last considered for review in 2016 and at this stage NICE decided to update the guideline. This update may include developing recommendations specifically related to the recognition of recurrent cancer depending on the final scope, which is yet to be determined. It is for NHS England to commission new clinical guidelines from NICE on health-related topics.

Cancer

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans the Government has to extend the NHS Cancer Dashboard to include ovarian and other less common cancers.

David Mowat: The Cancer Dashboard was published in May 2016 as a tool to help Cancer Alliances, commissioners and providers to quickly and easily identify priority areas for improvement, and enable easy tracking of progress towards national ambitions for cancer. Initially the Dashboard focusses on tumour types with the highest incidence rates. However, NHS England will explore the inclusion of other tumour types over time. It is important to note that it will not be possible to include detailed data on all cancer types at clinical commissioning group level due to low numbers of cases.

Cancer

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were diagnosed with cancer at A&E departments in each year since 2010.

David Mowat: This information is not held centrally.

Prescription Drugs

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many drug treatments which previously met NICE guidelines have been removed for not meeting those guidelines since 2015.

Nicola Blackwood: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has advised that, since 2015, one technology recommended in a technology appraisal has not been recommended in a subsequent technology appraisal review.

Ovarian Cancer

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the findings of the ovarian cancer regional pilot that took place in 2014 will be published.

David Mowat: Public Health England has been commissioned by the Department to evaluate the Be Clear on Cancer (BCoC) Campaigns. An interim evaluation report on the ovarian cancer pilot has been published and is available on our BCoC website:http://www.ncin.org.uk/cancer_type_and_topic_specific_work/topic_specific_work/be_clear_on_cancer/ This includes results for public awareness and knowledge, urgent general practice (GP) referrals for suspected cancer, cancer diagnoses resulting from an urgent GP referral for suspected cancer, conversion rate, cancer diagnoses recorded in the cancer waiting times database and detection rate.

Cancer: Drugs

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the Government's plans on the new appraisal process for cancer drugs to be considered for off-label or off-licence use will be published.

Nicola Blackwood: NHS England is responsible for overseeing the process for considering the commissioning of cancer drugs for off-label or off-licence use. This is set out in the new approach to the appraisal and funding of cancer drugs in England which came into force on 29 July 2016 and which is available at:www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/cdf-sop.pdf

Cancer: Drugs

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many of the new cancer drugs that were approved in 2015-16 by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence would have been affected by the proposed new £20 million budget impact threshold.

Nicola Blackwood: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) consultation on the £20 million budget impact threshold has now closed and NICE are carefully considering the evidence gathered with a response expected in due course.

NHS: Sustainable Development

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the role of universities is in the establishment of Sustainability and Transformation plans.

David Mowat: Local areas are responsible for engaging with the staff, patients and the public, as well as organisations which may include university providers, to further develop their plans. Some examples of this work include: - Gloucestershire Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) is taking a whole-system approach to obesity working with Leeds Beckett University and Public Health England; and- Surrey Heartlands STP is working with the University of Surrey and others to develop a clinical academy so clinicians can work together and agree common standards so all local residents have access to the same high quality standards of care. Health Education England is working with STP leads to ensure workforce and training requirements are considered through the STP process.

Health Professions: Training

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how continuing professional development for (a) nurses, (b) midwives and (c) allied health professionals is monitored by his Department.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much funding his Department allocates to continuing professional development for (a) nurses, (b) midwives and (c) allied health professionals; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: Health Education England has a leadership role in ensuring the service invests in the ongoing education and training of all staff and a shared responsibility for investing in continuing professional development to promote service innovation and transformation. Ultimately employers are responsible for the continuing professional development of their employees, including its funding. From April 2016, all nurses and midwives have to renew their registration every three years through revalidation. As part of revalidation, registrants must undertake 35 hours of continuing professional development relevant to their scope of practice as a nurse or midwife.

Nurses: Migrant Workers

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many nurses from other EU countries have been employed by the NHS since 23 June 2016; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS Digital publishes data on the nationality of staff working in the National Health Service in England. Nationality is self-reported within the NHS human resources and payroll system, the electronic staff record.At the end of June 2016, 21,826 nurses and health visitors working in the NHS, Hospital and Community Health Services identified themselves as non-United Kingdom, European Union nationals. At the end of September 2016 the figure was 22,227.The September data, published in December, is the most recent data available.

Smoking: Children and Young People

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to include steps to tackle smoking prevalence among children and young people in the Government's planned Tobacco Control Plan.

Nicola Blackwood: Smoking is an addiction which is largely taken up in childhood with the majority of smokers starting as teenagers before they fully comprehend the health risks associated with smoking. Tackling smoking initiation by children will therefore remain a priority for this Government. Children who have a parent who smokes are two to three times more likely to be smokers themselves. Therefore, in order to reduce the numbers of children who take up smoking, supporting adults to quit will also remain important.

Cancer: Health Education

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on the planned pilot of the Be Clear on Cancer abdominal scheme.

David Mowat: Public Health England is launching a Be Clear on Cancer Abdominal Symptoms campaign which covers a range of symptoms in one campaign. This regional pilot campaign will raise awareness of a range of abdominal symptoms that can indicate a wider number of cancers. The material encourages those people to visit the doctor promptly if they have these symptoms for three weeks or more. The campaign will run from 9 February until 31 March 2017 in the East and West Midlands. This work has been developed with the help of a number of experts, including clinicians and charities such as Target Ovarian, Ovarian Cancer Action, Ovacome and Pancreatic Cancer UK. The campaign will include radio, print, digital and out of home advertising (bus shelters and pharmacy bags). The activity is aimed at men and women who are over the age of 50 from lower socioeconomic groups, and their key influencers, such as friends and family. As with all Be Clear on Cancer campaigns, the regional pilot will be evaluated and results will help inform decisions about how to expand in future.

Cancer: Clinical Trials

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on patients accessing clinical trials on new cancer treatments.

David Mowat: The Prime Minister has made clear that a key priority through the negotiations will be to ensure that the United Kingdom remains one of the best places in the world for science and innovation. As part of exit negotiations the Government will discuss with the European Union and Member States how best to continue cooperation in the field of clinical trials.

Health: Per Capita Costs

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the per capita spend on public health was in each English region in each financial year since 2010.

Nicola Blackwood: Local authorities assumed lead responsibility for improving the health of their local populations in April 2013. The per capita spend reported by local authorities on their public health function, by region can be found in the table. The per capita spend reported by local authorities on their public health function, by region since 2013/14Region2013/14 spend per capita (£)2014/15 spend per capita (£)2015/16 spend per capita (£)London636673Midlands and East of England414553North of England566168South of England333643England475057 The reported total for 2015/16 is not directly comparable with earlier years because of the transfer of funding for children’s age 0-5 public health services from the National Health Service to local authorities from 1 October 2015.Data is not readily available on a comparable basis for years prior to 2013/14, because NHS funding for public health constituted part of overall NHS allocations and was not separately identified. The information in the table does not include continuing NHS spend on public health services, such as vaccination and screening programmes, or Public Health England’s operational spending, as this information is not published on a regional basis.

Health Services

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what funds were available to NHS England to finance the annual prioritisation process for specialised services in 2015.

David Mowat: NHS England introduced its annual relative prioritisation process for specialised services in 2016, following a period of public consultation. As this process did not exist in 2015, no funds were set aside for it during that year.

NHS: Standards

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department issues to clinical commissioning groups on implementation of quality statements made by NICE published in Quality Standards.

Nicola Blackwood: The Department has not issued any guidance to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) on implementation of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) quality standards. NHS England has advised that NICE guidance, including quality standards, is built into advice provided to commissioners on specific clinical areas of work as appropriate. For example, the End of Life Commissioning Toolkit, published April 2016, supports delivery of the NICE Quality Standard on end of life care in adults and is published at:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/nhsiq-comms-eolc-tlkit-.pdf In addition, as part of the current Diabetes Treatment and Care transformation funding bidding process, part of the scoring criteria for bids includes consideration of the degree to which the proposed developments will be compliant with NICE guidance, including relevant quality standards. NICE has advised that it provides support and resources to help CCGs work with and use quality standards. This includes the development of formal indicators related to quality standards to measure the quality of care at CCG level, visits from the NICE field team of implementation consultants, a forward plan of topics, including likely resource implications, tools to support measurement against the standards and databases of shared learning examples about the experience of others working with quality standards and levels of uptake of these standards.

Capita

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the performance of Capita in administrating the National Dental Performers' List; and if he will make a statement.

David Mowat: Delays to dental performers being added to the Dental Performers List have affected dental practitioners and their businesses. My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary for Public Health and Innovation (Nicola Blackwood) is working directly with Capita and NHS England to ensure that services for dentistry and other key services are restored to an acceptable and sustainable standard.

NHS: Non-domestic Rates

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on changes to the business rates system.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will provide the NHS with extra funding to cover any additional costs arising from proposed changes to the business rates system.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of proposed changes to business rates on NHS hospital and GP practice services in England.

Mr Philip Dunne: Changes to the business rate system include the recent revaluation and the move to 100% business rates retention. The Valuation Office Agency is responsible for revaluations and setting rateable values for business rates, from which local authorities calculate the business rates bill. Each National Health Service organisation is responsible for ensuring their current rating assessments and any recent changes thereto are correct and for challenging them if necessary. As with other ratepayers, NHS bodies may be able to seek transitional relief. The Department has not made a national assessment of the overall impact, and no specific additional funding is being provided beyond the £10 billion of real terms growth by 2020/21. The Ministerial team has not met with counterparts at the Department for Communities and Local Government to discuss revaluation. The move to business rates was discussed at the time of the Spending Review. Officials are in regular contact to discuss detailed implications, such as the possible inclusion of authority social care and public health functions under the new system.

Neuromuscular Disorders

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that people with muscle-wasting conditions in (a) Coventry and (b) the UK have access to neuromuscular care advice close to their home; and if he will make a statement.

David Mowat: NHS England is responsible for commissioning specialised neurological services, including some services for patients with neuromuscular disorders. NHS England has published a service specification for neurological care that includes an exemplar service specification for neuromuscular conditions that sets out what providers must have in place to offer evidence-based, safe and effective services. The service specification for neurological care can be found at the following link:www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/d04-neurosci-spec-neuro.pdfNational Health Service providers, working with local area teams, may establish patient access to neuromuscular care advisers if they consider it would benefit service provision and such decisions are a local matter.

Organs: Donors

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to increase organ donation.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people died while on waiting lists for organ donation in each year since 2011.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of people who die while on the waiting list for organ donation.

Nicola Blackwood: A seven year United Kingdom-wide organ donation and transplantation strategy was jointly published by the four UK health ministers and NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) in July 2013. The strategy aims to increase consent rates, encourage people to be proud to donate and to make the UK system comparable with the best of the world. We have invested significantly in more specialist nurses, in better retrieval arrangements and in strengthening referral procedures between intensive care and the transplant programme to help ensure that all potential donors are identified and that families are supported through this very difficult time. NHSBT run regular awareness raising campaigns and introduced a new Organ Donation Register (ODR) system making it easier for people to record their wishes about donation. NHSBT works collaboratively with a number of partners in the private, public and third sectors to promote organ donation. People can add their name to the ODR via Government owned channels such as applying for a driving licence and paying car tax online. Our aim is to maximise the number of people who can benefit from a transplant and 2015/16 saw the highest ever deceased donor rate in the UK with 1,364 deceased donors resulting in 3,529 transplants. Information on the number of people who die while on waiting lists for organ donation is given in the annual NHSBT Transplant Activity Report in Section 1 of the report ‘Summary of Donor and Transplant Activity’. An archive of these reports can be found at:www.odt.nhs.uk/uk-transplant-registry/annual-activity-report/

NHS: Proof of Identity

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on access to care of any requirement for two forms of identification to be provided before NHS treatment is given to a patient.

Mr Philip Dunne: We welcome trusts piloting schemes whereby they ask National Health Service patients for two forms of identification to demonstrate an individual’s residency status. This is good practice and helps establish in a non-discriminatory way who may be eligible for free NHS care and who may not. We will monitor the impact that identification checks have, including the effect on costs identified and recovered from people not eligible for free NHS care.

NHS: Pay

Dr   Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS staff are on the highest point of the Agenda for Change (AfC) payscale in (a) total and (b) each AfC pay band.

Mr Philip Dunne: The information requested is in the following table. Number and Proportion of National Health Service staff at the highest point in each Agenda for Change band Headcount at September 2016Pay BandNumber of staff Band 131,389 Band 286,674 Band 376,634 Band 447,940 Band 5103,808 Band 683,427 Band 756,983 Band 8a18,701 Band 8b8,036 Band 8c4,109 Band 8d2,097 Band 9786  All520,584 Source: NHS Digital, Provisional NHS Staff Earnings Estimates

NHS Property Services: Expenditure

Dr   Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the expenditure of NHS Property Services was in each financial year since 2013-14.

Dr   Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the income of NHS Property Services was in each financial year since 2013-14.

Mr Philip Dunne: The summary of income and expenditure extracted from the audited accounts for NHS Property Services for the financial years 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 is set out in the following table.   Year ending 31 March 2014 (£000’s)Year ending 31 March 2015 (£000’s)Year ending 31 March 2016 (£000’s)Operating Revenue790,918745,942684,653Property expenses678,893622,963584,551Admin Expenses120,323112,203118,360Other Expenses116,922284,599169,547 The audited accounts are available from the following website: http://www.property.nhs.uk/about-us/governance/

NHS: Pay

Dr   Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the real terms change in salary has been, cumulatively by financial year up to and including 2015-16, for a member of NHS staff who was at the top of their payscale in 2009-10 measured by (a) retail price index and (b) consumer price index.

Mr Philip Dunne: The real terms change in the salary of a member of National Health Service staff at the top of their pay band in 2009/10 by 2015/16 will depend on a number of factors including, whether they were promoted, whether they moved areas and received or lost geographical allowances, their working hours and the level of unsocial hours pay as well as annual increases in pay scales. The actual salary experience of NHS staff who were in post between 2010 and 2015 was examined through a recent longitudinal study by the Department presented in the Department’s evidence to the NHS Pay Review Body and Doctors and Dentist Review Body. This showed that half of Agenda for Change employees employed in both 2010 and 2015 benefitted from double figure increases in earnings over that five year period, equating to at least 2.2% to 2.9% annually, depending on staff group. Adjusting for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) gives an average increase of -0.2% to 0.5% per year. The same study showed that the total earnings of Hospital and Community Health Service doctors employed in both 2010 and 2015 increased by an average of 3.3% per year between 2010 and 2015, 0.9% per year when adjusted for CPI.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Housing: Carbon Emissions

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 23 December 2016 to Question 57827, on housing: carbon emissions, what future policy options he is considering.

Jesse Norman: Holding answer received on 02 February 2017



The Government’s emissions reduction plan will set out proposals for meeting carbon budgets and decarbonising all sectors of the UK economy through the 2020s.

Housing: Carbon Emissions

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 23 December 2016 to Question 57827, on housing: carbon emissions, how much seed funding the Government provided for Green Open Homes.

Jesse Norman: Holding answer received on 02 February 2017



The former Department for Energy and Climate Change provided a total funding of £547,000 towards Green Open Homes.

Energy: Conservation

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 23 December 2016 to Question 57829 on energy: conservation, when he plans to publish the emissions reduction plan in 2017.

Jesse Norman: The Government’s intention is to publish the emissions reduction plan as early on in 2017 as possible in order to move on to the delivery stage.

Fuels: Prices

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to monitor the difference between the wholesale cost of petrol and diesel fuel and the price paid for those fuels by consumers.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) closely monitors average retail petrol and diesel prices and publishes these data regularly. This is available at:www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/oil-and-petroleum-products-weekly-statistics.Using commercial reports of the wholesale fuel prices, analysis by the Department suggests that on average, at a national level, wholesale price changes are fully passed through into pump prices within 4-5 weeks. This time represents wholesale contractual arrangements and the time taken for fuel to be delivered to filling stations through the supply chain. There is no evidence to suggest that, for given changes in wholesale prices, retail prices rise faster than they fall.BEIS analysis shows that the gross retail margins (retail price less tax and wholesale price, which includes distribution and retail costs as well as profit) have remained broadly stable around 8 pence per litre for the past few years.

Overseas Students

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to address trends in the market share of international students studying in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson: The Government recognises the significant contribution that international students bring to the UK. The UK remains a highly attractive destination for non-EU students, with their numbers remaining at record highs – over 170,000 non-EU entrants to UK HE institutions for the 6th year running. The UK’s success in attracting international students (EU and Non-EU) is reflected in its 10% share of the tertiary international student market in 2014, second only to the US according to the OECD. The Government promotes study in the UK through the Britain is GREAT marketing campaign and through the British Council, which promotes UK education in over 100 countries, connecting millions of people with the United Kingdom. Government is also promoting UK international success through bilateral engagement on education with overseas partners and through the Chevening and Commonwealth scholarship schemes.

Tidal Power: Swansea Bay

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect on Swansea of a pathfinder tidal lagoon.

Jesse Norman: The Hendry Review published its report on tidal lagoons in January. The issues considered by the report are complex, both in relation to the proposed Swansea Bay project and to a potentially wider lagoon programme. Government will require a period of time to assess those issues and determine what is in the best interest of the UK energy consumer and taxpayer in the long term, and will publish its response to the Hendry Review in due course.

Tidal Power

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) lagoons meet the criteria required to obtain a marine licence and (b) alternative habitats are found for wildlife affected by each lagoon.

Jesse Norman: Marine Licences are issued in England and Wales by the Marine Management Organisation and Natural Resources Wales respectively. It is for the developers of projects to engage with the MMO and NRW directly on any marine licence application they wish to make.The impact of any proposed new lagoons on habitats and wildlife, including the need for any alternative habitats, will be assessed as part of the consent or licence application process for those projects taking into account the requirements of any relevant legislation.

Tidal Power

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his Department's policy is on ensuring pathfinder tidal lagoons include a no regrets policy.

Jesse Norman: The Hendry Review published its report in January. Government is considering its recommendations and the issues which would arise from a broader lagoon programme, and will publish its response to the Hendry Review in due course.

Fossil Fuels

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2016 to Question 56871, what proportion of the UK's fossil reserves need to be left in the ground to prevent global temperature change above two degrees centigrade.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has not made its own estimates of the proportion of UK fossil fuel reserves that need to be left in the ground to ensure that global warming is kept to within 2°C. However, even if the UK were to leave all of its fossil fuel reserves unused this would not necessarily limit temperatures to below 2°C, as this is a global issue that we need to collectively address. As we move towards a low-carbon future following the path set by the Climate Change Act and the carbon budgets, it remains in all our interests that we utilise our home-grown oil and gas reserves as they are expected to be an important part of the energy mix for years to come.

Tidal Power

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential role of tidal lagoons in the cultivating world leading sectors pillar of his Department's industrial strategy.

Jesse Norman: Government is considering the recommendations from the Hendry Review and the issues which arise from a broader programme. Government will require a period of time to assess those issues and determine what is in the best interest of the UK energy consumer and taxpayer in the long term. The Government will publish its response to the Hendry Review in due course.

EURATOM

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the Department for Exiting the European Union on plans to leave Euratom; and on what dates those discussions took place.

Jesse Norman: Holding answer received on 02 February 2017



My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and officials have regular meetings with the Department for Exiting the European Union, and both departments remain committed to the highest standards of nuclear safety, safeguards and support for the industry.

Consumer Advice, Protection, Standards and Enforcement for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Independent Review

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support his Department plans to provide industry in developing detailed plans to implement the recommendations in his Department's publication Each Home Counts, published in December 2016.

Jesse Norman: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I have given today to Question UIN 62374.

Consumer Advice, Protection, Standards and Enforcement for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Independent Review

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will set a deadline for industry to develop detailed plans to implement the recommendations in his Department's publication, Each Home Counts review, published in December 2016.

Jesse Norman: Holding answer received on 02 February 2017



Implementation of the recommendations will, as it proposes, be led by industry; and Government is working constructively with the sector to understand how and when they propose to implement the recommendations.

Tidal Power: Swansea Bay

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of the recommendations in the Hendry Review on the proposed Swansea tidal lagoon and other similar projects; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: Holding answer received on 03 February 2017



The Government is currently considering the Review’s recommendations and the issues which arise from a broader programme. Government will require a period of time to assess those issues and determine what is in the best interest of the UK energy consumer and taxpayer in the long term. The Government will publish its response to the Hendry Review in due course.

Carbon Capture and Storage

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential use of deep offshore saline aquifers in developing a viable business model for carbon capture and storage technology.

Jesse Norman: Holding answer received on 03 February 2017



The Department funded a twelve month £2.5 million project, led by the Energy Technologies Institute, to progress the appraisal of five selected carbon dioxide storage sites in the North and Irish Seas; three of these sites were offshore saline formations. The report, “Progressing Development of the UK’s Strategic Carbon Dioxide Storage Resource”, was published by the Energy Technologies Institute in May 2016 and is available at: http://www.eti.co.uk/project/strategic-uk-ccs-storage-appraisal/.

Radioactive Waste

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to invite councils to volunteer to be part of the Radioactive Waste Management search for a geological disposal facility host community.

Jesse Norman: Holding answer received on 03 February 2017



In the 2014 Implementing Geological Disposal White Paper Government set out three initial actions which will provide greater clarity on issues such as geology, development impacts and community representation. Good progress is being made on these initial actions and Government expects to consult on the draft National Policy Statement and Working with Communities policy in the coming months, ahead of the launch of the official siting process.As set out in the 2014 White Paper, once the siting process has been launched any interested community will be able to initiate discussions about the possibility of becoming the host community for a geological disposal facility.

ERASMUS

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many UK students have participated in the Erasmus Scheme in each of the last 10 years.

Joseph Johnson: The following table shows how many UK students have participated in the Erasmus Scheme in each year from 2005/6 to 2014/15:2005/671312006/772352007/8102512008/9108272009/10117242010/11128232011/12136602012/13145712013/14155662014/1514573

EURATOM

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on nuclear safety and existing nuclear safety regimes in the UK of the UK leaving Euratom.

Jesse Norman: The UK has a robust and well-established domestic civil nuclear safety regime - this will remain in place as the UK leaves Euratom.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Brexit

Ms Gisela Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place in the Library a list of public consultations, White Papers and other documents his Department plans to publish to assist the UK in making effective the Government's plans for the UK to leave the EU within the two year timetable from the triggering of Article 50.

Mike Penning: The Ministry of Defence continues to work with the Department for Exiting the EU (DExEU) on understanding the implications of withdrawal from the EU for Defence. This includes work to support the various work streams that DExEU have established to support negotiations and other preparations for leaving the EU.

Islamic State: Military Intervention

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on policies to minimise the risk of civilian casualties when conducting operations against Daesh.

Sir Michael Fallon: I have spoken to the new Secretary of Defense and look forward to further discussions with him later this month on the counter Daesh campaign in which the need to minimise civilian casualties is a key factor for the Iraqi government, and for the Coalition in supporting them.

Military Provost Guard Service

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the End of Year Budget in each year since 2010 was for the Military Provost Guard Service.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel were employed by the Military Provost Guard Service in each year since 2010.

Mark Lancaster: The End of Year budget figures for the Military Provost Guard Service are provided below. The data reflects actual spend at the end of each Financial Year (FY). Data is not available for FY 2010-11   YearCost £ million2011-1280.4012012-1385.5842013-1488.3492014-1592.1412015-16108.366  The strength of the Military Provost Guard Service as at 1 April for the years requested is shown in the table below:   StrengthMPGSApr-102,310Apr-112,510Apr-122,630Apr-132,770Apr-142,810Apr-152,940Apr-162,870 Source: Defence Statistics (Army) Notes/Caveats: Figures include MPGS personnel only and therefore exclude Regular, Reserve and Gurkha personnel. Figures include all MPGS regardless of their Top Level Budget.

Military Intervention

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on maintaining the Executive Order on US Policy on Pre- and Post-Strike Measures to Address Civilian Casualties.

Sir Michael Fallon: The maintenance of the Executive Order on US Policy on Pre and Post-Strike Measures to Address Civilian Casualties is a matter for the US Administration.

Armed Forces: Females

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many women are serving in the tri-service regular and reserve forces.

Mark Lancaster: The latest UK Armed Forces Biannual Diversity Statistics at 1 October 2016 shows that 15,280 and 4,890 female personnel were in the UK Regular Forces and Reserve Forces respectively.Further information can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/574734/Biannual_Diversity_Statistics_1Oct16.pdf

Military Police

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the strength is of Trained UK Reserve personnel in the (a) Royal Military Police, (b) Royal Navy Police and (c) Royal Air Force Police.

Mark Lancaster: The trained strength of UK Reserve personnel in the Royal Military Police, Royal Navy Police and Royal Air Force Police as at 1 December 2016 is shown below. ServiceTrained Strength of UK Reserve Forces in the UK Military PoliceRoyal Military Police392Royal Navy Police8Royal Air Force148

Iraq Historic Allegations Team

Sir Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2016 to Question 56187, what the budget is for the Iraq Historic Allegations Team in (a) 2017-18 and (b) 2018-19.

Mike Penning: The Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT) operates within an agreed lifetime budget of £57.2 million.

Trident Missiles: Testing

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, who briefed the Prime Minister that a Trident D5 II missile launched as part of the 2016 Demonstration and Shakedown Operation exercise had not completed its test as planned.

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how soon after he took office was the Prime Minister informed by his Department that the Trident D5 II missile launched as part of the 2016 Demonstration and Shakedown Operation exercise had not completed its test as planned.

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when after the 2016 Demonstration and Shakedown Operation exercise did he advise the former Prime Minister that the Trident D5 II missile launched by HMS Vanguard had not completed its test as planned.

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when after the 2016 Demonstration and Shakedown Operation exercise was he advised that the Trident D5 II missile launched by HMS Vanguard had not completed its test as planned.

Sir Michael Fallon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 26 January 2017 to the hon. Member for South Down (Ms Ritchie) to Question 61284. HMS Vengeance successfully concluded her Demonstration and Shakedown Operation and returned to the operational cycle.



WQnA extract on Trident Missiles Testing
(Word Document, 14.21 KB)

Army: Young People

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the terms of reference for the Army's Junior Entry Review; when he expects that review to report; and if he will make a statement.

Mike Penning: The Army is conducting a review of its Junior Entry policy to ensure it attracts the best young people and continues to maximise the talent of the individual, to the mutual advantage of both the young person and the Army. This review is expected to conclude later this year. I will place a copy of the terms of reference in the Library of the House, in due course.

Trident Missiles: Testing

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he was part of the discussion in which it was decided not to inform Parliament that the Trident D5 II missile launched as part of the 2016 Demonstration and Shakedown Operation exercise had not completed its test as planned.

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what criteria underpinned the decision not to make public the fact that the 2016 Demonstration and Shakedown Operation exercise had not been completed as planned and that the Trident D5 II missile launched by HMS Vanguard had not completed its test as planned.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's policy is on publication of the results of the Royal Navy SSBN and Trident II D5 demonstration and shakedown operations.

Sir Michael Fallon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 31 January to the hon. Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West (Ms Ferrier) to Question 61464. HMS Vengeance successfully concluded her Demonstration and Shakedown Operation and returned to the operational cycle.



61464 - WQnA extract on Trident Missile Testing
(Word Document, 14.12 KB)

NATO

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which British officers have been appointed to NATO by (a) rank, (b) responsibility and (c) location in the last 12 months.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which NATO appointments are held by British officers by (a) rank, (b) responsibility and (c) location.

Mike Penning: The UK holds 952 posts in the NATO Command Structure, of which 484 are Officers. The UK is the second largest contributer to the NATO command structure. The key appointments (at 1-Star and above) are shown below. AppointmentLocationRankDeputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (DSACEUR)Mons, BelgiumOF-9UK Military Representative Headquarters NATO & EUBrussels, BelgiumOF-8Director Operations and Plans, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers EuropeMons, BelgiumOF-7Deputy Commander, NATO Headquarters Air CommandRamstein, GermanyOF-8Commander, NATO Headquarters Maritime CommandNorthwood, UKOF-8Chief of Staff, Supreme Allied Command (Transformation)Norfolk, Virginia, USAOF-8Deputy Chief of Staff Plans, Allied Joint Force CommandNaples, ItalyOF-7Deputy Commander, NATO Rapid Deployable CorpsMilan, ItalyOF-7Deputy Commander, NATO Naval Striking and Support ForcesLisbon, PortugalOF-7 UK personnel are usually appointed to NATO for a period of three years. The number of UK personnel appointed to NATO in the last twelve months is shown in the table below: LOCATIONRESPONSIBILITYRANKNUMBERMons, BelgiumStaffOF-62StaffOF-55StaffOF-415StaffOF-31 Brussels, BelgiumCommandOF-81CommandOF-71StaffOF-62StaffOF-51StaffOF-47StaffOF-32StaffOF-22Sofia, BulgariaStaffOF-31Lille, FranceStaffOF-51StaffOF-41StaffOF-31Geilenkirchen, GermanyStaffOF-41StaffOF-21Munster, GermanyStaffOF-41StaffOF-31Oberammergau, GermanyStaffOF-42Uedem, GermanyStaffOF-51StaffOF-41   2Ramstein, GermanyCommandOF-81StaffOF-42StaffOF-35StaffOF-21Milan, ItalyCommandOF-71StaffOF-51StaffOF-42StaffOF-32Naples, ItalyStaffOF-51StaffOF-46StaffOF-35Poggio Renatico, ItalyStaffOF-31Riga, LatviaStaffOF-41   2Brunssum, NetherlandsStaffOF-52StaffOF-47StaffOF-34StaffOF-21Stavanger, NorwayStaffOF-51Bydgoszcz, Poland,StaffOF-31   Lisbon, PortugalStaffOF-41 StaffOF-32   Bucharest, RomaniaStaffOF-41StaffOF-32Torrejon, SpainStaffOF-41StaffOF-33   Izmir, TurkeyStaffOF-51StaffOF-42StaffOF-31Northwood, UKStaffOF-51StaffOF-31StaffOF-21Blandford, UKStaffOF-31Yeovilton, UKStaffOF-31   Huntingdon, UKStaffOF-41Norfolk, VA - USAStaffOF-51StaffOF-44StaffOF-31  Key:  Royal NavyRoyal Marines Army Royal Air Force OF 9AdmiralGeneralGeneralAir Chief MarshalOF 8Vice AdmiralLieutenant GeneralLieutenant GeneralAir MarshalOF 7Rear AdmiralMajor GeneralMajor GeneralAir Vice-MarshalOF 6CommodoreBrigadierBrigadierAir CommodoreOF 5CaptainColonelColonelGroup CaptainOF 4CommanderLieutenant ColonelLieutenant ColonelWing CommanderOF 3Lieutenant CommanderMajorMajorSquadron LeaderOF 2LieutenantCaptainCaptainFlight Lieutenant Further information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Trident Missiles: Testing

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on identifying and repairing the fault that led to the Trident D5 II missile not being able to complete its test after being launched as part of the 2016 Demonstration and Shakedown Operation exercise.

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on the (a) nature and (b) incidence of faults in the navigation controls on the Trident D5 II missiles.

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Inertial Guidance System on board the Trident D5 II missile was tested during the 2016 Demonstration and Shakedown exercise.

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the age was of the Trident D5 II missile that was launched but unable to complete the testing as part of the 2016 Demonstration and Shakedown Operation exercise.

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the issue that led to the Trident D5 II missile not being able to complete its testing after being launched as part of the 2016 Demonstration and Shakedown Operation exercise has now been identified.

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what work has been carried out by the manufacturers of other Trident D5 II missiles to prevent reoccurrence since the missile was unable to complete its test after being launched as part of the 2016 Demonstration and Shakedown Operation exercise.

Sir Michael Fallon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 23 January to the hon. Member for North Durham (Kevan Jones) (Vol 620, Col 23). Details of the Trident weapon system and submarine operations must remain secret. The Government is in no doubt about the capability and effectiveness of the Trident missile system. HMS Vengeance successfully concluded her Demonstration and Shakedown Operation and returned to the operational cycle.



Hansard extract on Trident Test Firing
(Word Document, 14.87 KB)

Armed Forces: Females

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many women serving in the tri-service regular and reserve forces have accessed medical services in relation to concerns about their own mental health in the last 12 months.

Mark Lancaster: During the 12-month period between 1 October 2015 and 30 September 2016 (latest verified data), a total of 6,115 UK armed services personnel had an initial assessment for a mental health disorder at one of the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) specialist Departments of Community Mental Health, or at a MOD-contracted in-patient provider. Of these, 1,188 (19.4%) were female personnel. 1,168 were Regulars, 16 were Reserves, and four were Others (including Military Provost Guard Service).These numbers represent all initial attendances at MOD specialist Mental Health Services and not all personnel will have been assessed as having a mental health disorder. In addition, some patients with a mental health condition may have been successfully treated wholly within the primary care setting by their GP or medical officer, without the need for referral to specialist facilities. Data regarding such treatments are not collated centrally.

Army

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2017 to Question 59886, when he plans for the (a) 12th and (b) 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade to reach initial operational capacity with upgraded Warrior, upgraded Challenger 2 and Scout vehicles; and when he plans for the (i) 12th and (ii) 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade to reach full operational capacity with that new equipment.

Mike Penning: There are no dates for Initial and Full Operating Capability for 12th and 20th Armoured Infantry Brigades, which already operate in the armoured infantry role. The brigades will receive incremental capability enhancements as their units receive the upgraded Warrior and Challenger 2, and new AJAX vehicles (formerly called Scout SV). The Ministry of Defence is expecting all of these vehicles to be in service by 2025.

Defence Suppliers Forum

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Defence Suppliers Forum Mid-Tier Group will next meet.

Harriett Baldwin: The Defence Suppliers Forum Mid-Tier Group will next meet on 17 February 2017.

Ministry of Defence: Staff

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civilian staff were employed by his Department, by civil service grade, in each year since 2010.

Mark Lancaster: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 2 February 2017 to Question No 62302.  



Ministry of Defence: Staff
(Word Document, 33.55 KB)

Armed Forces: Food

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) operational ration packs and (b) tonnes of food that represents have been withdrawn from use and disposed of in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Harriett Baldwin: Out-of-date Operational Ration Packs (ORPs) are withdrawn from use and disposed of in line with current food safety legislation. Based on information recorded on Ministry of Defence Inventory Management systems, the number of ORPs that have been disposed of is given below. The weight of these disposals is not recorded. Financial YearNumber of ORPs2012-1363,0902013-141102014-155,0042015-1610,798April 2016/December 201612,275Notes:(1) Information prior to 1 April 2012 is not held.(2) Both individual 24-hour ORPs and 10-man ORPs are included in the above figures.

Bomb Disposal: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions explosive ordnance disposal personnel were deployed in Northern Ireland between 1 August and 31 December 2016.

Mike Penning: Incidents requiring explosive ordnance disposal experts in Northern Ireland are dealt with solely by military personnel. Between 1 August and 31 December 2016 Explosive Ordnance Disposal personnel have responded to 100 incidents in Northern Ireland.

Armed Forces: Discharges

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the outflow target was for reserve and regular soldiers and officers leaving the (a) infantry, (b) Royal Artillery, (c) Royal Corps of Signals, (d) Army Medical Services, (e) Adjutant General's Corps, (f) Royal Armoured Corps, (g) Army Air Corps, (h) Royal Engineers, (i) Royal Logistics Corps, (j) Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and (k) Intelligence Corps in the last 12 months.

Mark Lancaster: The Army does not set outflow targets. Actual outflow numbers are published monthly, and can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-armed-forces-monthly-service-personnel-statistics-2016

Department for Communities and Local Government

Homelessness

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 17 January 2017, Homelessness Reduction Bill, HCWS 418, if he will place in the Library the evidential basis used to determine the level of funding to local government to meet the new burden costs associated with the Homelessness Reduction Bill.

Mr Marcus Jones: Holding answer received on 30 January 2017



A note explaining the methodology and the key assumptions that sit behind the estimate of the new burdens costs of the Homelessness Reduction Bill was sent to local authorities and members of the Bill Committee on 17 January. The same methodology underpins the revised new burdens estimate of £61 million I set out at the Report stage of the Homelessness Reduction Bill on 27 January. A copy of the note will be placed in the Library of the House. The Department will continue to work with the Local Government Association and local authorities on the development of the distribution model for the funding to determine the amount to be received by each area. The full new burdens assessment will be published once this is complete and the Bill is in its final form.

Communities and Local Government: Pay

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the (a) level of earnings is of the (i) highest and (ii) lowest-paid employee and (b) median earnings are of employees of his Department, agencies and arms-length bodies.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Office for National Statistics publish annually the highest and median salary for each Civil Service organisation as part of the Civil Service Statistics. This information can be found on the Office for National Statistics website:https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/medianpayannexbEarning levels for the lowest paid employee are not publically available.

Homelessness

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of the need to record people as having been made intentionally homeless on their ability to find new homes.

Mr Marcus Jones: Where a local housing authority finds an applicant to be intentionally homeless, or intentionally threatened with homelessness, they have a duty to ensure the applicant is provided with advice and assistance in any attempts the applicant may make to secure, or maintain the availability of, accommodation. Where an applicant has a priority need for accommodation the authority also has a duty to secure accommodation for a period that will give the applicant a reasonable opportunity of securing accommodation for their occupation.

Communities and Local Government: Brexit

Ms Gisela Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will place in the Library a list of public consultations, White Papers and other documents his Department plans to publish to assist the UK in making effective the Government's plans for the UK to leave the EU within the two year timetable from the triggering of Article 50.

Mr Marcus Jones: My Department is supporting the Department for Exiting the EU to deliver the Government’s overall plan for the UK to exit the EU. At present, my Department does not have any planned public consultations, White Papers or other documents to assist the UK in making effective the Government's plans for the UK to leave the EU. However, should this become necessary within the 2 year timetable for triggering Article 50, this will be reviewed.

Licensed Premises: Non-domestic Rates

Steve Double: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to review the current level of business rates for licensed premises.

Steve Double: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on different sectors of business of different business rates being in effect in different parts of the UK.

Mr Marcus Jones: Business rates are based on valuations from the Valuation Office Agency and we do not intervene in their independent assessments. We have put in place a £3.6 billion transitional relief scheme for England to support ratepayers at the 2017 revaluation. As part of the consultation on the transitional relief scheme my Department published analysis of the impact of the revaluation by sector and region.www.gov.uk/government/consultations/business-rates-revaluation-2017 As regards the approach to valuing pubs, an Approved Guide for the Valuation of Public Houses for business rates has been agreed between the Valuation Office Agency and all 5 bodies representing pubs including the British Beer and Pub Association and the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers.

Health Services: Non-domestic Rates

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will allow authorities to apply discretionary measures with regard to business rates levied on hospitals and GP surgeries.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, for what reason the proposed new business rates system does not include local authority discretion on business rates levied on hospitals and GP surgeries.

Mr Marcus Jones: Holding answer received on 03 February 2017



Local authorities have wide-ranging powers to grant discretionary relief from business rates to ratepayers. There is nothing preventing authorities from using this power to grant relief to GP surgeries or hospitals. Under the relevant legislation the billing authority must be satisfied that it is reasonable to provide the relief, having regard to the interests of persons liable to pay council tax.

Revenue Support Grant: Lancashire

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much Lancashire County Council received from the Revenue Support Grant in each of the last three years.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Local Government: Buckinghamshire

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, on what dates (a) Buckinghamshire County Council submitted a proposal for local government reorganisation in Buckinghamshire and (b) district councils in Buckinghamshire submitted their counter proposals; and what his timetable is for reaching a decision on those proposals.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department received a proposal for unitary restructuring from Buckinghamshire County Council in November 2016, and a proposal from the four district councils in Buckinghamshire in January 2017. We shall carefully consider both proposals before reaching a preliminary decision. Whilst there is no specific deadline, our intention is to make this decision as soon as is practicable so as not to prolong any period of uncertainty for the area.

Members: Correspondence

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to respond to the letters from the hon. Member for Christchurch of (a) 19 January 2017 on behalf of the Christchurch Citizens' Association and (b) 23 January 2017 on the application for a Dorset Combined Authority.

Mr Marcus Jones: a) I responded to the hon Member for Christchurch today.b) A response will be sent to the hon Member for Christchurch shortly.

Local Government: Dorset

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will permit Poole Unitary Authority and Bournemouth Unitary Authority to merge voluntarily to form a new authority.

Mr Marcus Jones: We understand that certain councils in Dorset will shortly be submitting a proposal for new unitary structures which we will of course consider very carefully.

Local Government: Dorset

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will visit the Borough of Christchurch and the districts of East Dorset and Purbeck to discuss reasons for those authorities voting to retain their status as independent principal authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones: I met with the Leaders of Dorset councils in November last year, where they discussed the progress being made towards the submission of a unitary proposal. However, the decisions which those councils have taken are a matter for them. We understand that certain councils in Dorset will shortly be submitting a proposal for new unitary structures which we shall of course consider very carefully.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Pay

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what the level of earnings is of the (a) highest and (b) lowest-paid employees of his Department, its agencies and arms-length bodies; and what the median level of earnings is for such employees.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly. However, the Office for National Statistics publish annually the highest and median salary for each Civil Service organization, including the Scotland Office, as part of the Civil Service Statistics. This information can be found on the Office for National Statistics website: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/medianpayannexb

Nuclear Weapons

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2017 to Question 61501, on what date he  last discussed the UK's nuclear deterrent with the (a) Prime Minister and (b) Ministry of Defence; whether missile tests formed part of these discussions; and if he will make a statement.

David Mundell: I regularly discuss on-going, important issues with the Prime Minster and my Cabinet colleagues.

Devolved Matters: Scotland

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2017 to Question 61526, if he will make it his Department's policy to bring forward legislative proposals to prevent the UK Parliament from passing legislation applying to Scotland that makes provision about a devolved matter without the consent of the Scottish Parliament.

David Mundell: The Sewel Convention has been placed on a statutory footing by section 2 of the Scotland Act 2016, which states that the UK Parliament will not normally legislate with regard to devolved matters without consent of the Scottish Parliament. The UK Government’s approach has not changed.

Scotland Office: Security

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, which persons not employed by his Department hold security passes entitling them to enter his Department's premises.

David Mundell: Civil servants have to have the ability to work flexibly across Government sites where there is a business need to do so. The issuing of all passes is controlled by the local Departmental Security teams. Passes can also be issued to contractors or secondees based within Government premises on a case by case basis in regards to specific business needs. Numbers of passes issued directly to non-civil servants for access to departmental buildings will fluctuate over the course of a year.

Scotland Office: Brexit

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will place in the Library a list of public consultations, White Paper and other documents his Department plans to publish to assist the UK in making effective the Government's plans for the UK to leave the EU within the two year timetable from the triggering of Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

David Mundell: The Department for Exiting the EU is leading the UK government’s efforts on exiting the EU, and as the Prime Minister has said, we do not approach these negotiations expecting failure, but anticipating success. The Secretary of State for Exiting the EU published a White Paper on ‘The United Kingdom’s exit from and new partnership with the European Union’ on Thursday 2 February. I and my officials will continue to work closely with other parts of the UK Government and the Scottish Government, and we will continue to engage stakeholders in Scotland.

Department for International Trade

Department for International Trade: Pay

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the (a) level of earnings is of the (i) highest and (ii) lowest-paid employee and (b) median earnings are of employees of his Department.

Greg Hands: The Office for National Statistics publish annually the highest and median salary for each Civil Service organisation as part of the Civil Service Statistics. This information can be found on the Office for National Statistics website:https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/medianpayannexb As the Department for International Trade (DIT) is newly formed, its statistics will be included in the next ONS release, due for publication in March 2017. Earning levels for the lowest paid employee are not publically available.

Alstom

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what export credit support his Department or its predecessors have provided to Alstom Power in Lithuania, Tunisia, Indonesia, Egypt and India since 2000; and whether UK Export Finance have made payments to Alstom Power for losses in relation to projects in those countries.

Greg Hands: UK Export Finance has not provided export credit support to Alstom Power for projects in Lithuania, Tunisia, Indonesia, Egypt or India since 2000.

Rolls-Royce

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what cover UK Export Finance has given to Rolls Royce since 2000; and what the (a) type of export credit finance, (b) year, (c) amount, (d) country and (e) project was of each instance of such cover.

Greg Hands: Where such information is not commercially sensitive, details about exporters supported by UK Export Finance (UKEF) since 2000/01 are published annually in its Annual Report and Accounts which is presented to Parliament. Prior to these details being included in its Annual Report and Accounts, UKEF provided support for one Rolls-Royce case within the relevant period. The details are: a) buyer credit; b) 2000; c) maximum liability of £40.1m; d) Thailand; and e) aero engines.

Department for Transport

Birmingham Airport

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that global opportunities for the Midlands provided by Birmingham Airport are highlighted in the Midlands connect strategy.

Mr John Hayes: Midlands Connect is a regional partnership that is developing its transport strategy for the Midlands, due in Spring this year. In preparing the strategy, Midlands Connect has involved Birmingham Airport in discussions as part of its analysis of how Midlands travellers connect to international markets and possible initiatives to improve global connectivity for the Midlands to help drive forward the region’s economy.

Aviation

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether a publication date has been set for his Department's review of airspace modernisation and noise policies in the UK.

Mr John Hayes: The UK Airspace Policy: A framework for balanced decisions on the design and use of airspace consultation was published on 2 February 2017. A copy of this document has been placed in the Library.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what limitations government guidance places on the duration and timing of roadworks in urban areas; and if he will introduce lane rental or other means of shortening the length of time required for such work.

Andrew Jones: Local highway authorities are able to choose one of two regimes for managing street works on all roads. The New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (as amended) sets out arrangements for noticing. This only applies to works carried out by utility companies, who simply need to submit a notice to the authority of the works they plan to carry out. The Traffic Management Act 2004 brought in more proactive permitting schemes. Permitting applies to works carried out by both utilities and local authorities. Utilities have to pay a small administration fee with their application. Around 60% of local authorities have now adopted permit schemes and these are seeing reductions in the duration of works as a result. The Government is working closely with the sector to take forward a programme to improve the management and coordination of works. We would like to see those 40% of local authorities still using noticing adopt permit schemes, especially as these apply to all works on all roads. We have just commissioned an independent evaluation of existing permit schemes to quantify the impact they have had on the duration of works, and to identify the costs and benefits of setting these up. We have begun work on the Street Manager project that is going to look at how we might improve the way that data is collected and shared, and how we can use this data to co-ordinate activities on the highway more effectively. We will also continue to look at ways to simplify a complex legal framework, so that we can reduce overall works duration and minimise the impact on road users and local communities. We plan to consult in summer 2017 on the future of lane rental schemes which are aimed at helping local authorities manage works on the busiest roads at the busiest times. The consultation will consider the full range of options.

Bus Services

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of advanced quality partnership schemes between 2010 and 2016.

Andrew Jones: Advanced quality partnerships schemes do not yet exist. They are a proposal at Clause 1 of the Bus Services Bill to build upon the existing quality partnership scheme mechanism introduced by the Transport Act 2000.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if it is his policy to ensure all car manufacturing companies provide consumers with appropriately detailed technical information when informing the owner of the vehicle they need to be serviced.

Andrew Jones: The General Product Safety Regulations (GPSR) require manufacturers to supply information of the vehicles they are selling; this information is found in the handbook and contains all the technical information about the vehicle, including servicing requirements.

Southern: Industrial Disputes

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 31 January 2017 to Question 61887, on railways: industrial disputes, what steps he has taken to ensure that the dates of submission and conclusion of Southern Govia Thameslink Railway's existing force majeure claims are centrally recorded.

Paul Maynard: Details of the Force Majeure claim are a contractual matter between the Department and Govia Thameslink Railway. The claims have been received at appropriate times and expedited as quickly as possible.

M6

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what further steps the Government is taking to situate additional lighting and street furniture on the M6 Heysham link road to enhance road safety.

Andrew Jones: The Department for Transport allocated Lancashire County Council with £110.9 million towards the total scheme cost of £134.4 million for the M6 to Heysham Link Road, also known as the Bay Gateway. In addition, the Department for Transport is providing the Council with over £124 million between 2015 and 2021 for local highways maintenance and £4.5 million in 2017/18 through the National Productivity Investment Fund. It will be for Lancashire County Council, as local highway authority, to decide whether they wish to use this funding to provide additional street furniture and lighting for the road if they deem this a priority.

Southern: Industrial Disputes

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 31 January 2017 to Question 61886, on railways: industrial disputes, what steps he has taken to record the amount of staff hours spent on Southern Southern Govia Thameslink Railway's current force majeure claims; and how many staff have worked on those claims to date.

Paul Maynard: The current Force Majeure claim is unprecedented in its scale and complexity and the focus within the Department has been to provide the time and resources to reach the correct conclusion. We have not recorded staff hours as it does not serve a useful purpose to meet this outcome; however, I can confirm that there has been a team of officials across the Department assessing the core part of the claim.

Southern: Standards

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects the review of Southern Rail's performance to be completed; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Maynard: The scale of the industrial action on Southern has caused significant disruption to passengers, which is reflected in the force majeure claim by Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR). The Department analyses claims and must be satisfied that force majeure is appropriate. This is a complex claim to analyse and the process is ongoing. We are working with both GTR and Network Rail to deliver much-needed improvements to passengers and considering a number of recommendations from the industry at present.

Railways: Industrial Disputes

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 31 January 2017 to Question 61884, on railways: industrial disputes, what the value of each agreed claim was to the train-operating company in each instance.

Paul Maynard: I refer the hon. Member the answer I gave on 31 January to Question 61883. The ultimate financial consequences of force majeure claims are not separately calculated or identifiable within the overall financial payments made between the Department and the operator concerned.

Govia Thameslink Railway

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Peter Wilkinson, when engaged in any capacity by his Department, has been involved in assessing franchise bids by Govia Thameslink Railway while (a) providing consultancy advice for Govia Thameslink Railway and (b) holding shares in any company providing consultancy advice for Govia Thameslink Railway.

Paul Maynard: The Department’s franchising system operates to the highest standards of public procurement and includes numerous checks and balances to ensure no impropriety. Decisions on the award of franchises are taken by the Department, not by any individual official, and follow a comprehensive process to ensure a fair and open competition. Each franchise award is subject to thorough and independent audit.

Home Zones

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on the establishment of new Home Zones.

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funds the Government has provided to local authorities for the maintenance of Home Zones.

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Home Zones have been established in England since 2000; and where those zones are located.

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of establishing more Home Zones.

Andrew Jones: Home Zones are residential areas with streets designed for very low vehicle speeds which better suit the needs of pedestrians and cyclists. The aim is to change the way streets are used in order to improve quality of life by reducing the dominance of motor traffic. Local authorities are free to install them using powers under the Transport Act 2000 without reference to the Department. The Home Zones Challenge Fund, set up in April 2001 to encourage the development of home zones in England, funded 59 schemes across 56 authorities. These are listed in the table below. The Department does not hold information on how many other Home Zones are in place, or where they are located, as local authorities do not have to inform the Department when they install them. AuthorityScheme locationLutonHaymarket GreenNorfolkCavell Road, NorwichPeterboroughNew EnglandSuffolkCambridge Road, LowestoftDarlingtonPateley Moor CrescentGatesheadTyne ParkMiddlesbroughGresham AreaNorth TynesideThe TriangleNorthumberlandCowpen Quay, BlythSouth TynesideCleadon ParkBlackpoolTalbot and BrunswickBoltonOldham’s EstateBuryAston EstateCheshireEgerton Street Area, ChesterLancashirePoulton Area, MorecambeSouth West Area, BurnleyLiverpoolGrafton StreetManchesterNorthmoor Phase 2RochdaleWardleworthSt HelensBidston AvenueTamesideAshton West EndTraffordAddiston CrescentWarringtonWhitecrossWiganBrowning StreetWirralDundonald & Methuen StreetsEast SussexTown Farm Estate, HailshamHampshireCastle Grove, PorchesterKentNorthcourt Estate, DentonOxfordshireSaxton Road, AbingdonReadingKingsbridge RoadSouthamptonRadcliffe RoadSurreyNutley Lane, ReigateWest SussexNorth West Bognor RegisBath & North East SomersetAlbert Avenue, Peasedown St JohnBristolSouthvilleCornwallNorth Close Estate, RedruthDevonWonford Estate, ExeterPlymouthMorice TownWiltshireCollege Community Area, TrowbridgeWestleigh Area, WarminsterBirminghamPitts farm, ErdingtonStaffordshireSilkmore, Stafford Wilmot Drive, Newcastle under LymeTelford and WrekinWest WoodsideWolverhamptonFordhousesWorcestershireDuke of Edinburgh Way, MalvernDerbyNormantonNottinghamKennington Road AreaKingston upon HullAlbany StreetKirkleesMoorside EstateLeedsLittlemoorNorth LincolnshireCrosby/Frodingham, ScunthorpeBromleyRookery Gardens, St Mary CrayCamdenLupton StreetGreenwichDeptford GreenHaringeyLinden RoadKingston upon ThamesCavendish RoadNewhamCranberry EstateSouthwarkSutherland SquareThe Department has not made any recent assessment of Home Zones. The design of streets in their care is a matter for local authorities. In recent years there has been a significant step change in attitudes to street design, with the focus increasingly on creating streets that function as places and communities. Home Zones are one tool that can help achieve these aims. We promote this approach more generally through design guidance such as the Manual for Streets. Although the Government provides maintenance funding to local authorities, the Department provides no specific funding for the maintenance of Home Zones. Local authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highways network in their area. It is for each individual authority to assess which parts of its network are in need of repair and what standards should be applied, based on their local knowledge and circumstances.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

British Nationals Abroad: Homicide

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how UK overseas posts ensure that the families of UK citizens murdered abroad are adequately represented in related prosecution processes.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: UK Missions overseas aim to support families of UK citizens murdered abroad in a variety of ways. This includes providing important information about the local police and legal system, and what to expect at court hearings. Officials can also attend the first and last day of a trial and be present at the verdict; and can make or suggest appropriate representations to the local authorities if there are concerns that the investigation or judicial process is not being carried out in line with local laws or procedures.We will consider intervening to make representations to the local authorities if there are concerns that an investigation is not being carried out in line with local procedures; if there are justified complaints about discrimination against the person involved; or where we judge that a local delay or decision creates significant distress for those involved. However we do not interfere in investigations or judicial processes of a country, just as we expect them not to interfere with investigations or judicial processes in the UK. It is therefore important that families consider appointing a local lawyer who can offer legal advice on local police and judicial processes, represent their interests in court and raise any concerns they may have.

Adrian St John

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reason Trinidad and Tobago High Commission has not been represented in the hearings related to the murder of Adrian St John.

Sir Alan Duncan: The High Commission has not been represented at any hearings related to the murder of Adrian St John. Consular staff do not normally attend court hearings, although they can attend the first and last day of a trial and be present at the verdict. A representative of the British High Commission in Trinidad and Tobago will observe the next hearing on 6 February 2017. This is on an exceptional basis.

Israel: Palestinians

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Palestinian Authority after a demonstration hosted by President Abbas' Fatah party to celebrate the 52nd anniversary of its first terror attack on Israel at which terrorists who have killed Israelis were honoured.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: While we have not raised this specific issue with the Palestinian Authority, our Consul-General raised the issue of incitement with President Abbas on 24 December. We continue to support the reinstatement of the Tripartite Committee on Incitement as the appropriate channel to deal with allegations of incitement from either side.

Colombia: Embassies

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, by what date the UK Embassy in Bogota plans to comply with the Colombia Constitutional Court's judgment in the case of Action for protection of fundamental rights initiated by Darwin Ayrton Moreno-Hurtado, against the embassy of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland before the Republic of Colombia, dated 22 July 2015.

Sir Alan Duncan: Holding answer received on 02 February 2017



The British Embassy responded to the Colombia Constitutional Court's judgment on 23 September 2015. No further response is necessary. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the British Embassy in Bogota take their employment responsibilities very seriously and pride in being an equal opportunities employer dedicated to inclusivity, a diverse workforce and valuing difference.

USA: Travel Restrictions

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether the recent Executive Order on travel to the US applies to people resident in the UK who were born in Somaliland and (a) are British citizens, (b) are citizens of another EEA country, (c) have indefinite leave to remain in the UK and (d) have another immigration status.

Sir Alan Duncan: Holding answer received on 02 February 2017



The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has received assurances that all British passport holders remain able to travel to the United States, and the Executive Order makes no difference to any British passport-holder, irrespective of their country of birth or whether they hold another passport. Questions about non-uk passport holders are a matter for the government of the USA.

Sudan: Christianity

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Government of Sudan on recent convictions of Christians in that country for spying and the sentences those people have received.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are deeply concerned by the verdict in the case against Pastor Hassan Abduelraheen Kodi, Petr Jasek, and Abdulmonem Abdumawlla, however we are aware that the defendants have the right to appeal. We have regularly raised our concerns over this case, as well as the wider issue of freedom of religion and belief, directly with the Government of Sudan, most recently on 17 January; and will continue to do so as part of our ongoing human rights dialogue.

Ukraine: Violence

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of (a) the extent of and (b) who is responsible for growth in the level of violence in the Donbas region of Ukraine; and whether such violence constitutes a breach of the ceasefire agreement.

Sir Alan Duncan: The increase in fighting and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in recent days around the town of Avdiivka in the Donbas represents a serious escalation. We have called publicly for all sides to demonstrate restraint, facilitate humanitarian access, and to commit to a full and sustained ceasefire, in line with the provisions of the Minsk Agreements.Such fighting is clearly in breach of the ceasefire commitments set out in the Minsk Agreements. We are clear that the conflict in Ukraine has been caused, and is sustained by, deliberate Russian destabilisation of Ukraine.

Kenya: Missing Persons

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to Kenyan authorities on the safety and whereabouts of Dong Samuel Luak and Aggrey Idri, who have been missing from Nairobi since 23 and 24 January 2017 respectively.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are aware of the two individuals and we will continue actively to engage the Government of Kenya, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at a senior level. We are in close communication with human rights organisations who are voicing concern over the disappearance of the two. We will continue to urge the Kenyan authorities to respect the principle of non-refoulement.

Companies: Ownership

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Sixth Special Report HC911, Tackling corruption overseas: Government Response to the Fourth Report from the International Development Committee, Session 2016-17, whether it remains the Government's policy to persuade the UK's Crown Dependencies to adopt public registers of beneficial ownership.

Sir Alan Duncan: It remains the Government’s ambition for public registers to become the global standard. Our priority is to implement the new bilateral arrangements which were concluded with the Overseas Territories in 2016. Under the arrangements, the Overseas Territories have committed to establish, where they have not already done so, central registers of beneficial ownership information or similarly effective systems, and to give UK law enforcement and tax authorities near real-time access to beneficial ownership information on corporate and legal entities incorporated in these jurisdictions.The Overseas Territories have also committed to systematic exchange of beneficial ownership information as part of a wider international initiative.

Department for International Development

USA: Family Planning

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect of the US restoring the Mexico City Policy on the effectiveness of her Department's projects.

James Wharton: The full implications of the reinstated and expanded Mexico City policy are not yet clear, but we are closely following developments. DFID will consider the implications with our offices, with UK civil society and with donors.

Developing Countries: Teachers

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the implications are for her policies on her Department's assistance for the training of teachers in the developing world to meet 2030 educational targets of UNESCOs Policy Paper 19 of April 2015, The challenge of teacher shortage and quality.

James Wharton: We welcome the educational targets of UNESCO's Policy Paper. Well trained, motivated and empowered teachers are central to a quality education and this is where we are focusing our efforts; in the period 2011 – 2015 we helped to train 380,000 teachers and improve the effectiveness of teacher development. Through our ongoing bilateral education programmes and support to the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), we assist 65 developing countries to develop and finance education sector plans for teacher training.

Department for International Development: Brexit

Ms Gisela Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will place in the Library a list of public consultations, White Papers and other documents her Department plans to publish to assist the UK in making effective the Government's plans for the UK to leave the EU within the two year timetable from the triggering of Article 50.

James Wharton: Yes, but currently none have been published.

Department for International Development: Cleaning Services

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the hourly pay-rate is for her Department's cleaning staff.

James Wharton: DFID utilises a cross government contract for cleaning services in their UK estates. Cleaners are currently paid an hourly rate of £9.40 in DFID’s London office and £8.25 in DFID’s East Kilbride office.

Syria: Overseas Aid

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to ensure that aid can continue to be provided to Aleppo should the conflict in that city resume.

James Wharton: DFID-funded UN and humanitarian partners are assessing and responding to needs in east Aleppo city and have increased their activities in the west of the city to support those displaced there from the east. This is in addition to ongoing work to support the existing 350,000 displaced persons already in west Aleppo city.The UN assesses that the security situation in the city is stable, but we will continue to monitor this closely and scale up our response if necessary. We are working with our partners to ensure that they have effective contingency plans in place for any deterioration. As part of this work, they now have substantial contingency stocks of food available inside Aleppo City, and could quickly mobilise further stocks if required at short notice.

Syria: Refugees

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with her foreign counterparts on UNHCR's winter programme funding.

James Wharton: DFID is in regular communication with UNHCR, other agencies, host states and donor countries. Through this we raise concerns about conditions facing displaced people in winter.In October 2016 the UK contributed £9.8million to UNHCR’s Supplementary Appeal for Refugee Emergency Response in Europe. This will reach over 50,000 vulnerable refugees with core relief items and includes rapid winterisation of shelters in response to deteriorating weather conditions.

Syria: Overseas Aid

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Aleppo.

James Wharton: DFID-funded UN and other humanitarian partners are assessing and responding to needs in east Aleppo city. Approximately 65,000 people stayed in east Aleppo or have returned since its capture by the Assad regime in December. Immediate needs include food, medicine, shelter and cold weather support, such as winter clothing and thermal blankets. West Aleppo city has seen much less conflict, but our humanitarian partners have increased their activities to provide the full range of relief to the 50,000 people displaced there from the east of the city. This is in addition to the existing estimated 350,000 displaced persons already in west Aleppo city.Access to the main water supply remains intermittent in Aleppo due to a technical failure in Al Khafse water station, but repairs are being undertaken. In the meantime, DFID-funded partners have been trucking in water and installing water tanks.

Developing Countries: Family Planning

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department plans to contribute to the fund set up by the Government of the Netherlands in response to the changes to foreign aid for family planning announced by the new US Administration.

James Wharton: The UK will continue to show global health leadership by promoting and supporting evidence-based sexual and reproductive health and rights. The full implications of the reinstated and expanded Mexico City policy are not yet clear, but we are closely following developments.

Yemen: Ports

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to support the rebuilding of cranes in Hodeidah port in Yemen in order to ensure that food supplies can be imported into that country.

James Wharton: The UK Government is discussing short-term options to improve port infrastructure, including mobile cranes, with Gulf countries, the US and the UN. The conflict makes any long-term investment in infrastructure difficult so we are also calling on all parties to the conflict to protect civilian infrastructure, including Hodeidah port, from further damage; and to restart political talks in order to end the conflict.

Department for Education

Department for Education: Equality

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, who the diversity champion is on her departmental board.

Caroline Dinenage: The diversity champion on the Departmental Board is Juliet Chua.

Regional School Commissioners

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how her Department assesses the performance of Regional School Commissioners in their handling of failing schools.

Edward Timpson: As civil servants, Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) are subject to the civil service performance management framework. Their performance is also monitored against a number of Key Performance Indicators, which cover their four core remits: 1. Taking decisions on the creation of new academies2. Ensuring there are enough high-quality sponsors to meet local need3. Monitoring academy performance and tackling underperforming academies and free schools4. Providing advice and making recommendations in relation to free schools, university technical schools and studio schools.The RSCs are accountable to the National Schools Commissioner, Sir David Carter. Alongside this, the RSCs provide regular updates to the Parliamentary under Secretary of State for Schools, Lord Nash, together and individually, on specific cases. This information is in the public domain and can be found here: http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/education-committee/the-role-of-regional-schools-commissioners/written/21126.html

Department for Education: Pay

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the (a) level of earnings is of the (i) highest and (ii) lowest-paid employee and (b) median earnings are of employees of her Department, agencies and arms-length bodies.

Caroline Dinenage: The level of earnings of the (a) (i) highest paid employee, (ii) lowest paid and (b) median earnings of employees in the Department for Education is included in the table below and is based on data as at 31 March 2016.  Highest Paid*Lowest PaidMedian Pay*Department for Education£162,500£18,454£34,650Education Funding Agency£142,500£18,285£40,300Skills Funding Agency£112,500£14,200£36,810Standards and Testing Agency£87,500£22,438£34,300The National College for Teaching and Leadership£127,500£18,104£30,550 The columns marked with a star (*) are published annually in the autumn and can be found through the following link:https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/medianpayannexb.We do not hold equivalent data for the Department’s arms-length bodies and staff from the former Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Faith Schools

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will list the number of faith schools in England by (a) religion and (b) local authority area.

Caroline Dinenage: This information is available in the statistical first release athttps://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2016Figures for England are in table 2c. Figures for each local authority are in tables 7f and 7g.

Faith Schools

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of faith schools that were opened in 2015; and where each of those schools are situated.

Caroline Dinenage: In the 2015 calendar year, 14 new state-funded mainstream schools opened in England. The table below gives a breakdown of this number by local authority.Local AuthorityTotal faith schools opened in 2015 calendar yearBirmingham2Plymouth1Hillingdon1Hounslow1Norfolk1Staffordshire1Kingston upon Thames1Manchester1Slough1Lancashire1Stockton-on-Tees1Derby1Buckinghamshire1England Total14Source Edubase

Mental Health: Education

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to include a module on safeguarding mental health in the national curriculum.

Edward Timpson: Good mental health and wellbeing are a priority for the Department. We have high aspirations for all children and want them to be able to fulfil their potential, both academically and in terms of their mental health. We want to provide all children and young people with a curriculum that prepares them for success in modern Britain. Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education can help to provide pupils with the key skills and knowledge that can ensure their future success. All schools should teach PSHE, drawing on good practice, and we have outlined this expectation in the introduction to the new National Curriculum. The Government’s current approach is for schools to develop their own local PSHE programme to reflect the needs of their pupils, drawing on resources and evidence provided by expert organisations. To support schools in developing their PSHE curriculum, we have funded the PSHE Association to produce guidance and age-appropriate lesson plans to teach about mental health, which are available online at: www.pshe-association.org.uk/curriculum-and-resources?ResourceTypeID=3). On 9 January, the Prime Minister announced that the Department for Education (DfE) and Department for Health would publish a Green Paper on children and young people’s mental health; and that the DfE will pilot randomised control trials of preventative measures across three different approaches to mental health promotion and prevention. We are committed to exploring all the options to improve the delivery of PSHE, and the case for further action is actively under review, with particular consideration to improving quality and accessibility. We have also committed to update Parliament further on the Government’s plans during the passage of the Children and Social Work Bill.

Children in Care

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to reduce the number of children who are returned to care after adoption in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of children who have been returned to care after adoption in England and Wales in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson: The Government has invested significantly in supporting adoptive parents, most substantially through the launch of the Adoption Support Fund (ASF) in May 2015.This is playing an important role in reshaping the provision and availability of local support so that children and families can receive the support they need to avoid adoption breakdown. In April 2016 the Fund’s scope was extended to cover children being cared for under a Special Guardianship Order and children living in England who were adopted from countries other than England (known as overseas and inter-country adoptions)To date, over 12,500 families have received over £39m of therapeutic support through the Fund. Funding for the Adoption Support Fund will increase by over 20% for 2017-18 to £28m.National statistics on numbers of children in England starting to be looked after who had a previous permanence arrangement are available at the bottom of Table C1 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2015-to-2016.The Department collects information on looked after children from local authorities in England only. Figures on children starting to be looked after by previous permanence arrangements was first published for the 2013-14 financial year.

Protecting Children and Uniting Families Across Borders

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will meet representatives of the charity Protecting Children and Uniting Families Across Borders to discuss how to provide specialist children's inter-country social work services.

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason her Department ceased funding for the charity Protecting Children and Uniting Families Across Borders; and what provision she has made for ensuring that charity's work is sustained.

Edward Timpson: I wish to offer Protecting Children and Uniting Families Across Borders (CFAB) a meeting with Department for Education officials. I have asked officials to contact the charity to arrange the meeting.The Department for Education has provided past voluntary and community sector grants to CFAB, most recently in 2014-15. We allocated these grants through a competitive bidding process, and the grants were clearly time-limited. CFAB has applied for funding for later years, but has not been successful. These grants are not intended to provide core funding for charities.

Schools: Standards

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support teachers in improving educational outcomes.

Nick Gibb: Good teachers are critical to improving educational outcomes. We are supporting the professional development of teachers – including through the publication of the Professional Development Standard and the new Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund – and removing unnecessary workload. Schools have increased flexibilities, enabling Heads to attract the best teachers and focus on delivering an outstanding education for all their pupils.

Further Education: Debts

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will provide support to people who incur debt owed to the Skills Funding Agency as a result of training providers ceasing to operate.

Robert Halfon: The Skills Funding Agency manages providers and course eligibility for Advanced Learner Loans. The Student Loans Company administers these loans, which fund learners’ course fees.Both have robust procedures should there be an exceptional need to transfer loans-funded learners to a different provider. Contact is made with learners to inform them of the situation, as well as the options available to them. All efforts are made to minimise the level of disruption during any transition.

Mathematics: Primary Education

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to improve the quality of maths teaching in primary schools.

Nick Gibb: The government is committed to raising standards in primary mathematics teaching.We have established Maths Hubs - 35 school-led centres of excellence with a role in leading transformation of teaching based on best practice internationally. We are investing £41m to enable primary schools to introduce highly effective south-east Asian mastery teaching methods.We are also investing in primary mathematics initial teacher training (ITT) courses, to allow trainee primary teachers to specialise in the subject.

Adult Education and Lifelong Education

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to increase provision for adult skills and lifelong learning.

Robert Halfon: We are committed to 3 million more apprenticeships, which are for people of all ages and creating new technical education routes. Delivered by a revitalised FE sector, including specialist institutions, these will provide people with the skills employers need.We are also supporting adults to retrain through advanced learner loans and we will be exploring ambitious new approaches to encourage lifetime learning, including in HE which has a role extending opportunities for adults.

Church Commissioners

Church Commissioners: Security

Jon Trickett: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, which persons not employed by the Church Commissioners hold security passes entitling them to enter the Church Commissioners premises.

Dame Caroline Spelman: Holding answer received on 03 February 2017



The security arrangements at Church House in Westminster ensure that employees of the National Church Institutions (NCIs) have full access to those premises whilst others who may need temporary or limited access are able to enter only those parts of the building that they need to access for their work. The system has recently been upgraded to ensure that the NCIs provides a safe environment for staff and visitors.

Church Commissioners: Senior Civil Servants

Jon Trickett: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what the (a) ethnicity, (b) gender, (c) disability status, (d) educational background and (e) socio-economic status is of the three most senior officials of the Church Commissioners.

Dame Caroline Spelman: Caroline Spelman: The three most senior office holders of the Church Commissioners are the First Church Estates Commissioner (Crown Appointment), the Second Church Estates Commissioner (Crown Appointment recommended by Government) and the Third Church Estates Commissioner (Appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury). This information is published on the website of the Church Commissioners (https://www.churchofengland.org/about-us/structure/churchcommissioners/commissioners.aspx) and in the annual report. A copy of the annual report is placed in the House of Commons Library as a matter of public record. The holders of the positions are officeholders, not employees. The National Church Institutions do not hold other demographic data.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

5G

Richard  Arkless: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether 100 per cent geographical coverage will be a condition for the future spectrum licences for 5G mobile networks.

Matt Hancock: No decision has yet been taken.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Pay

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the (a) level of earnings is of the (i) highest and (ii) lowest-paid employee and (b) median earnings are of employees of her Department, agencies and arms-length bodies.

Matt Hancock: The Office for National Statistics publish annually the highest and median salary for each Civil Service organization as part of the Civil Service Statistics. This information can be found on the Office for National Statistics website: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/medianpayannexb Earning levels for the lowest paid employee are not publically available.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Chief Scientific Advisers

Stephen Metcalfe: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether there is a vacancy for a Chief Scientific Adviser in her Department.

Matt Hancock: Due to its small size DCMS does not employ a Chief Scientific Adviser, using its Science Advisory Council to ensure officials have access to high level, independent, scientific and technical advice. While there is currently no plan to recruit a CSA this position is regularly reviewed.

Broadband

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has any plans to introduce grants to support low-income families to access broadband.

Matt Hancock: BT provides a subsidised landline and broadband tariff (BT Basic + Broadband) for people in receipt of certain Government benefits. Other providers also offer services to support those on low incomes.

Fencing

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to promote interest in fencing.

Tracey Crouch: At grassroots level, government is investing funding of £1.7 m between 2017 and 2021 in British Fencing. The recently published Active Lives survey shows that 25,000 people in England regularly take part in fencing. On Friday 3 February Sport England announced that it will be investing a further £500,000 in British Fencing to support talented fencers with a potential further £500,000 to be invested in the future. At elite level, Wheelchair Fencing will receive £668,000 during the 2017-21 Tokyo Paralympic Cycle, increased from £194,886 during the 2013-17 Rio cycle.

Voluntary Work: Young People

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many young people are expected to benefit from the National Citizen Service between 2015 and 2020.

Mr Rob Wilson: Government's manifesto commitment continues to guarantee a National Citizen Service (NCS) place for every young person who wants one so that it becomes a rite of passage across the country. We have been working with the NCS Trust on new projections of demand, and we expect them to reach 199,000 participants in 2019/20 supported by over £1bn of funding over this parliament.

Betting Shops

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will estimate the number of betting shops likely to close as a result of a potential future reduction in the maximum stakes on fixed-odds betting terminals.

Tracey Crouch: A review of gaming machines and social responsibility measures began with a 6 week call for evidence on 24 October 2016, closing on 4 December. We are now looking in depth at the evidence and aim to publish our findings and any proposals in spring 2017, including an economic assessment of these proposals.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Forestry Commission

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which Ministers in her Department are responsible for the corporate governance and regulation of the Forestry Commission.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Forestry Commission is a cross-border Non Ministerial Department with a governance framework set out in the Forestry Act 1967 (as amended). It is headed by a Board of Commissioners, established by statute. In England, the Forestry Commissioners are responsible for the Forestry Commission’s governance and are accountable to the Secretary of State. As Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Environment and Rural Life Opportunities, I act on behalf of the Secretary of State in this regard.

Africa and South America: Primates

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with her counterparts in African and South American countries on the preservation of monkeys and apes.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: We have had no recent bilateral discussions with African and South American counterparts about the conservation of monkeys or apes. The UK and other EU Member States did however submit a successful proposal to give the Barbary macaque greater protection under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species at the Conference of Parties which I attended last year. Along with a number of African range states, the UK is a member of the Great Apes Survival Partnership, a United Nations conservation programme which aims to conserve great apes.

Climate Change

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to page 16 of the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment 2017, published in January 2017, how many staff at her Department are working on the review of the UK's environmental policy framework.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to page 16 of the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment 2017, when her Department expects to complete its review of the UK's environmental policy framework.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to page 16 of the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment 2017, published in January 2017, if she will publish the fundamental review of the UK's whole environmental policy framework.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Leaving the EU offers us an exceptional opportunity to re-consider and shape our approach to managing our environment in order to deliver our ambition of improving it within a generation. We will soon be publishing a green paper consulting on our ambitions for the 25 year environment plan. We will use this to inform our vision for the environment we want in 25 years’ time. This will then allow us, over time, to review the current policy framework to ensure it is fit for purpose, in line with the principles of the green paper. Once the 25 year environment plan programme is further advanced, we will have a better understanding of the resourcing required for this.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Brexit: Gibraltar

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what measures his Department has put in place to ensure that Gibraltar is represented during negotiations on the UK leaving the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: The UK Government has made clear that it intends to fully involve Gibraltar as we prepare for exit from the EU, to ensure Gibraltar’s interests are properly taken into account. I have been closely involved in considering Gibraltar’s priorities from the start of the EU exit process. On 20 July, my first debate in my role as a minister at the Department for Exiting the European Union was a Westminster Hall debate on the EU Referendum and Gibraltar (https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2016-07-20/debates/16072020000001/EUReferendumGibraltar). The Secretary of State for Exiting the EU and I met the Gibraltar Chief Minister on 12 September 2016 and I held a meeting with the Chief Minister and representatives of Gibraltar industry and trade unions on 1 November. At a multilateral level, Minister for the Overseas Territories, Baroness Anelay and I met with leaders of the Overseas Territories on 2 November 2016 at the UK-Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council. We committed to taking forward future engagement through the creation of the UK – Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council on European Negotiations (JMC – OT EN), to meet in February.I chaired the first meeting of the UK-Gibraltar Ministerial Forum on EU Exit took place on 7 December 2016, with Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers taking part alongside the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister of Gibraltar.

Brexit: Scotland

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what measures his Department has put in place to ensure that Scotland is represented during negotiations on the UK leaving the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: The Prime Minister will ensure that we negotiate the best possible future for the United Kingdom, representing the interests of all of its constituent parts.We have established a subcommittee of the Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC) on EU Negotiations, known as JMC(EN), to take forward work with the devolved administrations, including discussing issues stemming from the negotiation process which may impact upon or have consequences for the UK Government, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government or the Northern Ireland Executive.

Gibraltar: Spain

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions he has had with the Government of Gibraltar on the potential effect of leaving the EU on relations between Gibraltar and Spain.

Mr Robin Walker: The UK Government has made clear that it intends to fully involve Gibraltar as we prepare for exit from the EU, to ensure Gibraltar’s interests are properly taken into account. As noted in the Government’s recent White Paper (The United Kingdom’s exit from and new partnership with the European Union), we have established a Joint Ministerial Council (Gibraltar EU Negotiations) with the Government of Gibraltar, which met for the first time on 7 December 2016. Department for Exiting the EU and Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers took part alongside the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister of Gibraltar. Ministers from the Department for Exiting the European Union have met several times with the Chief Minister and other Gibraltarian stakeholders. I gave both written and oral evidence to the Lords EU Select Committee’s inquiry into Gibraltar and the UK’s EU Exit on 25 January.

Wales Office

UK Trade with EU: Wales

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what the value of exports to the EU from Welsh (a) agriculture, (b) aerospace, (c) construction, (d) electronics, (e) manufacturing, (f) renewable energy, (g) services, (h) textile and (i) fishing industries was in the last six years.

Alun Cairns: The information below detail the value of exports to the EU for all industries in Wales at Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) levels 1 & 2 in Quarter 3 2016. Due to recent revisions in HMRC methods, data before this currently uses the previous methodology. My officials have been in contact with HMRC and have been told the historic figures using the new methods will be published shortly.SITC 1 LevelExports to the EU Quarter 3 2016(£000’s)0 - Food & live animals595681 - Beverages & tobacco72772 - Crude materials, inedible, except fuels135733 - Mineral fuels, lubricants & related materials1812454 - Animal & vegetable oils, fats & waxes10135 - Chemicals & related products, nes2200206 - Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material2937027 - Machinery & transport equipment9842458 - Miscellaneous manufactured articles1658249 - Commodities/transactions not class'd elsewhere in SITC18698 SITC 2 LevelExports to the EU Quarter 3 2016(£000’s)00 - Live animals other than animals of division 0361601 - Meat & meat preparations1922702 - Dairy products & birds' eggs918103 - Fish, crustaceans, molluscs & aq.inverts & preps thereof759304 - Cereals & cereal preparations881205 - Vegetables & fruit171506 - Sugar, sugar preparations & honey60307 - Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices & manufactures thereof200908 - Feeding stuff for animals (not inc.unmilled cereals)248409 - Miscellaneous edible products & preparations732811 - Beverages727212 - Tobacco & tobacco manufactures521 - Hides, skins & furskins, raw48622 - Oil seeds & oleaginous fruits823 - Crude rubber (including synthetic & reclaimed)12924 - Cork & wood30925 - Pulp & waste paper22126 - Textile fibres not manufactured & their waste etc58327 - Crude fertilizers & crude minerals (exc fuels etc)31028 - Metalliferous ores & metal scrap1056629 - Crude animal & vegetable materials n.e.s.96132 - Coal, coke & briquettes120933 - Petroleum, petroleum products & related materials17203434 - Gas, natural & manufactured504135 - Electric current296141 - Animal oils & fats61142 - Fixed vegetable fats & oils, crude, refined, fractionated30143 - Animal or vegetable fats & oils, processed, & waxes10151 - Organic chemicals3439052 - Inorganic chemicals203853 - Dyeing, tanning & colouring materials1859354 - Medicinal & pharmaceutical products5647955 - Essential oils & perfume materials; toilet preps etc2004656 - Fertilizers (other than those of group 272)13157 - Plastics in primary forms3457058 - Plastics in non-primary forms2812059 - Chemical materials & products n.e.s.2565361 - Leather, leather manufactures n.e.s & dressed furskins13162 - Rubber manufactures n.e.s.2734063 - Cork & wood manufactures (excluding furniture)111364 - Paper, paperboard & manufactures thereof2944765 - Textile yarn, fabrics, made up articles etc849366 - Non-metallic mineral manufactures n.e.s.1771767 - Iron & steel6014268 - Non-ferrous metals10049169 - Manufactures of metal n.e.s.4882871 - Power generating machinery & equipment1372772 - Machinery specialized for particular industries1975073 - Metalworking machinery175774 - General industrial machinery & eqp. & machine pt.n.e.s.3142975 - Office machines & adp machines3622076 - Telecomms & sound recording & reproducing app. & eqp.1730877 - Ele machinery, app & appliances & ele pt thereof n.e.s.6690378 - Road vehicles (including air cushion vehicles)11098279 - Other transport equipment68616981 - P/fab buildings; sanit., plumbing, heating &lighting fixt.392982 - Furniture & parts thereof; bedding, mattresses etc2593683 - Travel goods, handbags & similar containers224084 - Articles of apparel & clothing accessories1861485 - Footwear623487 - Professional, scientific & controlling ins & app n.e.s.2148588 - Photographic & optical goods, n.e.s.; watches & clocks775889 - Miscellaneous manufactured articles n.e.s.7962893 - Special transactions and commodities not classified according to kind1735296 - Coin (other than gold coin), not being of legal tender098 - Military arms and ammunition1346

UK Trade with EU: Wales

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what proportion of products from Welsh (a) agriculture, (b) aerospace, (c) construction, (d) electronics, (e) manufacturing, (f) renewable energy, (g) services, (h) textile and (i) fishing industries were exported to the EU in each of the last six years.

Alun Cairns: Statistics on Welsh exports and the value of production are categorised in different ways. Exports are categorised using Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) whereas the gross value added is classified by the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC). Therefore it is not possible to determine the proportion of production in Wales that is exported to the EU at the level requested.

Wales Office: Pay

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what the level of earnings is of the (a) highest and (b) lowest-paid employees of his Department, its agencies and arms-length bodies; and what the median level of earnings is for such employees.

Guto Bebb: The Office for National Statistics publish annually the highest and median salary for each Civil Service organisation as part of the Civil Service Statistics. This information can be found on the Office for National Statistics website: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/medianpayannexb Earning levels for the lowest paid employee are not publically available.

Wales Office: Brexit

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will place in the Library a list of public consultations, White Paper and other documents his Department plans to publish to assist the UK in making effective the Government's plans for the UK to leave the EU within the two year timetable from the triggering of Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

Alun Cairns: On 2 February, the Government published a White Paper entitled ‘The United Kingdom’s exit from and new partnership with the European Union’. The Wales Office will continue to support the Department for Exiting the European Union as we work towards the 12 negotiating objectives set out in this paper. I have no plans to publish any documents related to this work.

Ministry of Justice

Prison Officers: Labour Turnover

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department plans to take to (a) improve retention of and (b) reduce staff turnover among prison officers.

Mr Sam Gyimah: A core part of our prison safety and reform plan is the recruitment of an additional 2,500 prison officers. In 10 of our most challenging prisons we have already started a recruitment programme, and I am pleased to say that we have already made 348 job offers for those 400 jobs, on top of 1,400 new officer appointed in the last 12 months. To address the relatively higher numbers of new officers who leave in the first year, we are improving the support that applicants and new prison officers receive, so that they have the opportunity to explore and understand the role of the prison officer before applying and supporting them through to the completion of their training and probation. At 30 of our most challenging recruitment sites we will be giving prison governors greater freedoms to hire the staff right for them, with the expertise and skills they need. In respect of established staff, higher staffing levels are set to improve the supervision of prisoners, operational resilience and staff engagement with prisoners; all of which will improve prison safety and encourage experienced staff to stay. The percentage of experienced staff is higher now than it was in 2010.

Prisoners: Pakistan

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what agreements the Government has with the Government of Pakistan relating to the transfer of prisoners; and what effect those agreements have had on the number of prisoners exchanged with that country.

Dr Phillip Lee: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 03 February 2017.The correct answer should have been:

The United Kingdom and Pakistan signed a bilateral voluntary prisoner transfer agreement on 24 August 2007. It entered into force 19 August 2008. Four prisoners were transferred to from England and Wales to Pakistan on a voluntary basis in 2010. Transfers to Pakistan have been suspended by the Pakistani Government. following the unlawful release there of prisoners transferred from the United Kingdom and other countries. No further transfers have taken place since 2010. We are committed to increasing the number of Foreign National offenders removed from our prisons, whether they are removed through Prisoner Transfer Agreements or the Early Removal Scheme. In 2015/16 we removed the highest number of Foreign National Offenders since records began with a total of 5,810 offenders removed from prisons, immigration removal centres and the community. The transfer of prisoners from Scotland and from Northern Ireland is a devolved matter and is the responsibility of the relevant devolved authority.

Dr Phillip Lee: The United Kingdom and Pakistan signed a bilateral voluntary prisoner transfer agreement on 24 August 2007. It entered into force 19 August 2008. Four prisoners were transferred to from England and Wales to Pakistan on a voluntary basis in 2010. Transfers to Pakistan have been suspended by the Pakistani Government. following the unlawful release there of prisoners transferred from the United Kingdom and other countries. No further transfers have taken place since 2010. We are committed to increasing the number of Foreign National offenders removed from our prisons, whether they are removed through Prisoner Transfer Agreements or the Early Removal Scheme. In 2015/16 we removed the highest number of Foreign National Offenders since records began with a total of 5,810 offenders removed from prisons, immigration removal centres and the community. The transfer of prisoners from Scotland and from Northern Ireland is a devolved matter and is the responsibility of the relevant devolved authority.

Domestic Violence: Legal Aid Scheme

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications for legal aid in cases involving coercive control have been approved by the Legal Aid Authority in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

Sir Oliver Heald: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Cabinet Office

National Security Council

Tom Brake: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many meetings of the National Security Council (NSC) have taken place since 13 July 2016; how many of those meetings were chaired by the Prime Minister; and whether there have been any weeks when Parliament has been sitting during that period when the NSC has not met.

Ben Gummer: The National Security Council is a Cabinet Committee. Information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees is not disclosed, as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion. We do not comment on specifics relating to the National Security Council or national security issues.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of EU citizens who have entered the UK since 23 June 2016.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Letter to Member - EU Citizens
(PDF Document, 65.08 KB)

Cabinet Office: Security

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which persons not employed by his Department and its agencies hold security passes entitling them to enter his Department's premises.

Ben Gummer: Civil servants have to have the ability to work flexibly across government sites where there is a business need to do so. The issuing of all passes is controlled by the local Departmental Security teams. Passes can also be issued to contractors or secondees based within Government premises on a case by case basis in regards to specific business needs. Numbers of passes issued directly to non-civil servants for access to departmental buildings will fluctuate over the course of a year.

Government Departments: Pay

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many officials in which Government Departments receive a level of pay greater than that of the Prime Minister; what the roles of such officials are; and when such officials were appointed to their current roles.

Ben Gummer: Salary details for senior staff in departments, agencies and non-departmental public bodies earning £150,000 and above are published annually. The most recent list is online at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/senior-officials-high-earners-salaries.The Cabinet Office does not hold a central record of when these staff were appointed to their current role.

Government Departments: Secondment

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff have been seconded to Government Departments from (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Accenture, (d) KPMG, (e) McKinsey & Co, (f) Ernst and Young and (g) Bain & Company since July 2016.

Ben Gummer: Secondments into government departments can be centrally arranged or arranged by individuals or their departments. The number of individuals with secondments arranged from the centre is 2. The number of staff on secondments which are not centrally arranged are not centrally held.Table 1: Number of Secondees Coming into Departments From Specified CompaniesCompanyNumberHost Departments PWC2MOD / HMTDeloitte0 Accenture0 KPMG0 McKinsey & Co0 Ernst and Young0 Bain & Company0

Government Departments: Consultants

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many meetings Government Ministers or senior civil servants have had with representatives of (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Accenture, (d) KPMG, (e) McKinsey & Co, (f) Ernst and Young and (g) Bain & Company since July 2016.

Ben Gummer: The engagements of government ministers and Senior Civil Servants are not reported to or recorded by the Cabinet Office and as such this data is not held centrally. The arrangement of meetings is at the discretion of the relevant Ministerial teams and officials.

British Nationals Abroad: EU Countries

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many UK nationals under the age of 25 (a) live, (b) work and (c) study in EU member states.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Letter to Member - UK Nationals
(PDF Document, 66.08 KB)

House of Commons Commission

House of Commons Commission: Pay

Jon Trickett: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the (a) level of earnings is of the (i) highest and (ii) lowest-paid employee and (b) median earnings are of employees of the House of Commons Commission.

Tom Brake: In 2015/16, the highest paid employee earned £178,000. The full time equivalent earnings of the lowest paid employee was £17,000. The median level of earning was £33,760.